The Papsy's Hope autunite prospect, Marysvale District, Piute County, Utah

Abstract

The Papsy's Hope autunite prospect is in the eastern part of the Marysvale district, Piute County, Utah, about 1 1/2 miles northeast of the mines now operating. It is developed by two shallow cuts and a short incline shaft. One cut exposes a zone of fractures, sparse quartz veins, and scattered autunite. Most if the autunite is exposed within a north-south distance of 17 feet. The trend of the zone is not known. Samples across the autunite-bearing zone average 0.026 percent equivalent uranium. The deposit is in feldspar porphyry of the older Tertiary (Bullion Canyon) volcanics. The intrusive quartz monzonite that contains the deposits now being mined is in contact with quartz porphyry similar to the rocks exposed about 1500 feet west if the Papsy’s Hope prospect. In comparing the Papsy’s Pope prospect with the deposits now being mined, two major correlations have been observed. (1) The deposits at the Papsy’s Hope prospect and those at the Bullion Monarch and Prospector mined are immediately beneath the old erosion surface at the base if the y0ounger tertiary volcanics. The younger volcanics are still present a short distance to the nrth and south of the Papsy’s Hope perospect. (2) The deposits at the Papsy’s Hope prospect and at the Prospector mine are associated with completely silicified outcrops. These correlations may prove of value for prospecting, and further study of the m is in progress. Further prospecting would be necessary to determine the trend of the autunite-bearing zone and to expose it at greater depth. This could be done by trenching across the probable northeast-southwest trend of the zone, by drilling, and either extending the present inclines shaft, or, preferably, driving a new incline at a lower level.