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Uranium-bearing coal in the Red Desert, Great Divide Basin, Sweetwater county, Wyoming

January 1, 1953

Uranium-bearing coal in the Wasatch formation occurs in a zone extending 30 miles north of U.S. Highway 30 and the Union Pacific Railroad at Wamsutter, Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The Wasatch formation intertongues with the Green River formation and the beds are nearly flat lying. Preliminary estimation of total reserves in the area indicates the presence of 610,000,000 tons of subbituminous coal containing 14,800 tons of uranium in beds more than 30 inches thich and overlain by less than 75 feet of overburden. The uranium content of the coal ash ranges from 0.010 percent to 0.020 percent throughout most the area included in the reserves. Locally, the uranium content ranges from 0.001 percent to 0.047 in the coal and 0.005 percent to 0.14 percent in the ash.

Publication Year 1953
Title Uranium-bearing coal in the Red Desert, Great Divide Basin, Sweetwater county, Wyoming
DOI 10.3133/tem601
Authors Harold Masursky, George N. Pipiringos
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Trace Elements Memorandum
Series Number 601
Index ID tem601
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
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