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On the sources of uranium in some Scottish Caledonian granites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

A. N. Halliday*
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, East Kilbride, Glasgow, G75 0QU

Abstract

The lead isotope systematics, zircon uranium concentrations and whole-rock rubidium concentrations of 11 Scottish Caledonian granites are examined for clues to the origin of their uranium. A positive correlation between U in zircon and initial lead isotope ratios suggests that U and Pb were derived from the same source which, as some of these granites contain their U in inherited zircons, is likely to have been within the crust. It is argued, therefore, that most of the uranium in these granites had a crustal derivation but lead isotope ratios indicate that any Lewisian contribution was minor in comparison with those from postulated Grenville, Morarian or Caledonian metamorphic reservoirs. However, additional data are required before this conclusion can be extended to include uraniferous Caledonian granites such as Cairngorm.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1981

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