Seismic interpretation of sandstone-type uranium deposits in the Songliao Basin, Northeast China

Abstract

Nuclear energy is a clean energy source that can replace fossil energy on a large scale, and the nuclear energy industry has great advantages in terms of its technical maturity, economic potential, and sustainability. The stable supply of uranium ore, a type of energy mineral, is an important factor for the sustainable development of the nuclear energy industry; as a result, uranium ore has increasingly become the focus of current mineral exploration. We have used seismic attribute analysis, stratal slicing, and seismic inversion to characterize the Sifangtai Formation’s sandstone-type uranium deposit in area A of the central Songliao Basin. We conclude that seismic attribute analysis and the stratal slicing method can predict the continuous reservoir sand body in the study area, and seismic inversion can describe the spatial features of the reservoir sand body in detail. Further analysis of uranium-bearing drilling finds that uranium ore is located in the middle sand body of the lower segment of the Sifangtai Formation, in the middle of the study area, and that the predicted reservoir sand body meets the high-precision requirements for exploration. We use the combination of seismic interpretation and drilling analysis of uranium-bearing ore bodies to effectively predict the size and shape of uranium-bearing ore bodies, and this combined approach can provide guidance for uranium exploration. Furthermore, the results of this study also are significant for the prediction of sand bodies in uranium reservoirs.