Radiation detection when gold mining?

[blackchipjim]

Good evening to all, I have yet another question on quest for gold deposits. Is there any concerns about radioactive areas that you may encounter in the field? I am aware of the desert fever a person can encounter in process of inhaling the dust of the desert while prospecting. I have a few areas that I might prospect that have uranium listed as a possible mineral. I wonder if there is a way of detecting it other than a gieger counter or am i out of line on this subject. Thanks

 

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[SaltwaterServr]

Geiger is the only way. Some radioactive minerals fluoresce but that's not much help. I have a pretty good one that got stolen and replaced it with a not bad one. Next to an incandescent light, itll still click on the gamma.

 

[Capt Nemo]

Where I'm going in Alaska, there's the possibility of uranathorite from the geological report I read. Supposedly, it's a red mineral with a SG of around 10, so we'll be on the lookout for that in the black sands. I'll be spending about $200 for a digital counter to take along. I will need to check with a nuclear physicist to see what the max volume of ore is to prevent a criticality in the wet sand. Don't want a bucket glowing blue, cause if it does, we're dead! Aqueous solutions of uranium and especially plutonium can be tricky to handle as the water is a moderator and can cause a criticality with normally subcritical amounts of the elements. Only good thing is that the iron in magnetite is a neutron absorber like boron.

Besides gold and uranathorite, copper, native silver, platinum, cobaltite, and zircon were mentioned as being present in that report.

 

[Clay Diggins]

The danger from radioactive minerals is minimal. If radioactive minerals are found in concentration you can bet that there is an active or closed mine at the location. If you are the type to play around in closed mines the danger from the mining infrastructure is much greater than any radioactivity you will encounter in the minerals. When dealing with natural concentrations of radioactive minerals the danger is from long term exposure - long term as in years not days or weeks.

It's Uranothorite not uranathorite. It's not really red and there is no chance whatsoever of criticality, glowing any color or even a momentary reaction in it's natural state. Breathing the mineral dust is your only real danger and it's probably no danger at all in the conditions you will be working in. Uranothorite does produce Radon gas but your exposure for the period of time you will be there will be theoretical only.

Uranothorite is not uranium and plutonium is a man made element. There is no natural source of plutonium.

Go play in the dirt and worry about stuff like breaking bones, cutting yourself or drowning. That's where the real danger is when mining - not bears, not lions, not snakes and not radioactive explosions. You will find a good first aid kit with splints to be much more useful than a $200 Geiger counter. Take the Geiger for the cool factor if you want, they are fun, but if you are worried about your health around minerals keep an eye out for inhaling asbestos, arsenic and silica dust.

Heavy Pans

 

[russau]

Where I'm going in Alaska, there's the possibility of uranathorite from the geological report I read. Supposedly, it's a red mineral with a SG of around 10, so we'll be on the lookout for that in the black sands. I'll be spending about $200 for a digital counter to take along. I will need to check with a nuclear physicist to see what the max volume of ore is to prevent a criticality in the wet sand. Don't want a bucket glowing blue, cause if it does, we're dead! Aqueous solutions of uranium and especially plutonium can be tricky to handle as the water is a moderator and can cause a criticality with normally subcritical amounts of the elements. Only good thing is that the iron in magnetite is a neutron absorber like boron.

Besides gold and uranathorite, copper, native silver, platinum, cobaltite, and zircon were mentioned as being present in that report.

Capt Nemo If you do find some R.A. material DONT bring it onto a airplane or you possibly wil get pulled from your boarding line and checked out yourself!

 

[Capt Nemo]

The uranathorite (as spelled from the report) chemical comp was like UThSiOx, so both uranium and thorium are present in the mineral. I don't know the U235 enrichment on this stuff, but if it's like the Oklo reactor deposit material, adding water is dangerous. The daughter products may be adding the red color.

But if we do find any, it'll be just something else we can sell from the dirt we moved. Silver, copper, platinum, cobalt, and chromite were also listed as present.

 

[Clay Diggins]

(Th,U)SiO4 is Uranothorite Capt. There is no such mineral as uranathorite.

The Oklo reaction happened billions of years ago and is not a recent phenomenon. It couldn't happen again because after those billions of years the U235 in natural Uranium deposits has decayed well past the point of creating a natural reactor. The mineral involved in Oklo was Uraninite not Uranothorite like in Alaska.

Uraninite of an impossible 100% uranium would have to exist before a natural reaction could occur. Even then it would have to be acidified into yellow cake, treated with uranium hexafluoride gas and processed in a high tech centrifuge before it could become fissile. U-238 is non fissile. You couldn't get a chain reaction out of the stuff if you had tons of higrade in a pile. It can not support a chain reaction.

As I mentioned before the Radon gas that is produced by the slow decay of Uranium is a health hazard. Avoid living for years in an airtight house with a porous basement on a Uranium tailings pile and you will not be poisoned by the Radon.

Uranium isn't very radioactive in the pantheon of radioactive elements. It has an incredibly slow decay rate. It's danger is in the mind and ignorance of the consequences of enriching it for weapons and power generation. Like all heavy metals Uranium in it's pure form is poisonous if ingested by humans. Lucky for you and us it's doesn't occur naturally in a form that's dangerous to dig in a wet environment for a few weeks.

Go dig some good gold. Don't get distracted by the bear/cat/uranium drama and you might break even or better on your trip.

Heavy Pans

 

[AurumHunter024]

an airtight house with a porous basement on a Uranium tailings pile

Sound like the place I just moved into!
YIKES!!!

 

[Clay Diggins]

Sound like the place I just moved into!
YIKES!!!

Yeah 4 corners region does have some hot spots.

Here's the general Radon levels by county for the United States.



Not what you expected was it?

Heavy Pans

 

[Bonaro]

My brother worked at a Union Carbide uranium processing mill in Uravan Colorado for about 25 years. They refined native Uranium into Yellow cake for fuel rods. The vast majority of uranium deposits are fairly low in radiation when in the wild but he had a few specimens that made him uncomfortable to have around because they were naturally quite hot. 99% of the time you will not be in any danger from a naturally occurring RA deposit while prospecting because it the exposure limit is a combination of intensity + time spent. If you are going into Uranium mines this is a bigger risk but still quite low. I dont think I would worry about this.
One of the things he told me was that a person wearing a phosphorus, glow in the dark watch was getting a greater radiation exposure than he did working in the mill. He retired from the mill 20 years ago and is 72 and cancer free.
If it were me I would take the money set aside for a Geiger counter and invest in a snake bite kit and some beer.

 

[Capt Nemo]

I did the rough math on UT and 50 lbs worth in a 2 gal bucket could yield up to 21 lbs of uranium, 20 lbs of thorium, and 9 lbs of silicate. That's 41 lbs of reactor fuels mixed with water moderator, and no control rods! I'm more worried about the thorium kicking things off than the uranium. Thorium can go straight into a reactor with no enrichment needed, as 100% of natural thorium is one isotope. That isotope can both self fission and alpha decay. So it would be the 235 that's missing from the 238 to make it go. The saving grace might just be that the sand is red and not black like UT is supposed to be. It may be that that sand is full of fission products instead of fuel. It might indicate another Oklo type event that has eroded out. I believe there is a uranium lode claim to the southeast of the gold field. Well, boots on the ground will tell.

We'll have a Geiger along to see if we are picking up any in the cons, and a box of borax to salt things if needed, and/or as flux. Maybe that's why the salmon don't come up the river to where we're going, they're too afraid of becoming 3 eyed sockeyes.

 

[Reanm8er]

An economical option to the Geiger Counter is the Dosimeter. It clips on your pocket or belt and records cumulative roentgens of gamma radiation. It won't warn you of immediate exposure risk but will help you limit your total exposure by measuring cumulative quantities which is the real threat. Typically worn by x ray techs and workers in the nuclear science fields there are several types including film strips and pen types that you can look thru and read your cumulative status. Some are disposable and others are capable of recalibration. Most prefer the lensatic type because you can check your rads by just looking up the tube. About the same size of a small Streamlight and feather light. If you're doing this all the time you might consider a provider with a maintenance service.