This report deals with the uranium deposits at the Poison Canyon mine

Surveying the northeast Grants district for possible uranium occurrences

Abstract: Horse Mesa is in the Navajo Indian Reservation directly on the Arizona-New Mexico state line. Uranium-vanadium deposits in the Salt Wash sandstone which caps the Mesa are fairly widespread and small tonngges have been shipped from two mines. The deposits lie 60 to 75 feet above the base of the Salt Wash formation and possibly trend northwest parallel to ore trends on King Tutt Mesa, a mile northeast. Carnotite and vanoxite are the principal ore minerals. About 6,000 feet of wagon drilling is recommended to test two favorable areas. Continued exploration should be governed by results of this first stage drilling.

Introduction: Vanadium ore is being mined at many places in western Colorado, southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico (fig. 1). Eight mills in this region produced about 4,300,000 pounds of V2 05 in 1942, representing about 90 percent of the vanadium obtained from domestic sources. Although ore production has mostly exceeded mill capacity since 1937, production during the last half of 1942 averaged only about 19,000 tons or ore a month, whereas the capacity of these mills total about 22,000 tons a month. At the expected rate of ore production, ore stockpiles will be exhausted sometime in 1944, and these mills will then have excess capacity. With more intensive prospecting than now practiced, however, it is believed that sufficient reserves can be indicated to sustain capacity operation of these mills for several years. This memorandum is prepared to specify those areas that are considered most favorable from a geologic standpoint for developing large reserves of vanadium ore by prospecting. It is based on intensive studies by the Geological Survey since 1939 in most of the areas that produce vanadium ore.

From introduction: The general distribution of known deposits of vanadium-bearing sandstone, which also contain some uranium and radium, is shown in figure 1 1/ and Exhibit A, plate 53. 2/ During 1939-41 the Geological Survey made detailed geological studies of these deposits in the Uravan district, Montrose County, Colorado, as well as preliminary examinations in other parts of the Colorado Plateau vanadium region. In 1942 detailed geological studies were made o the deposits in the Egnar-Slick Rock district, San Miguel Co., Colo.; 3/ the Carrizo Moungains district, Navajo Indian Reservation, Arizona and New Mexico; 4/ the Placerville district, San Miguel County, Colo. 5/ and the Monticello district, San Juan Co., Utah. 6/ Since May 3, 1943, the Gelogical Survey has guided the Bureau of Mines program of prospecting these deposits in parts of Colorado and Utah.