The Inca uraniferous skarn Namibia: an unusual magmatic-hydrothermal deposit
Andy Wilde
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Abstract
Inca is a skarn-hosted magmatic-hydrothermal uranium deposit located in the Erongo district of Namibia. It differs in several key ways from typical intrusive uranium deposits of the region, principally because uranium occurs in skarn rather than in leucogranite intrusions. Preliminary observations presented here suggest that Inca is the product of the separation of a uraniferous hydrothermal fluid from leucogranite magma. This was the result of magma interacting with marble as hypothesized by Cuney (1980). Inca is one of only two economically significant skarn-hosted uranium deposits in the world. The other is the Mary Kathleen deposit, near Mount Isa in Queensland. Uranium deposition at Inca is paragenetically linked to skarn formation. At Mary Kathleen, however, uranium was introduced over 200 Ma after the formation of the host skarns. Inca is thus unique.
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