Ely Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Ely Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

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National Geochemical Database—Reformatted Data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) Program

By Steven M. Smith
Version 1.40 (2006)

This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.

Brief History and Description of Data

[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]

Totals of 2,034 sediment and 284 water samples were collected in the Ely quadrangle between April and August of 1980 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Ely Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The water samples and 19 of the sediment samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and other elements (16 additional elements in sediments and 9 in waters). These SRL results were not released in an individual quadrangle report for Ely.

A total of 1,937 sediment samples from SRL were sent to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) and analyzed for uranium and up to 31 additional elements. These data were released by Oak Ridge in the GJBX-23(82) report. (Note: The "Explanation of Codes Used" appendix to the ORGDP GJBX-23(82) report gives the SRL eastern U.S. site description coding scheme but all other indications suggest that the samples were actually collected and described using the SRL western U.S. site description coding scheme.)

In 1982, ORGDP released the data from supplementary analyses of a selection of the SRL water samples from 4 eastern Nevada quadrangles in the GJBX-169(82) abbreviated report (on microfiche only). This report includes the supplemental data for up to 29 elements in 282 of the Ely water samples. The site coding information for this data set was summarized in the GJBX-164(82) report.

In 1982, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. This report, GJBX-132(82), contains the analytical data from the Ely water samples and the 19 Ely sediment samples that were analyzed by SRL. The report contains only site information for the remainder of the Ely sediment samples. The introduction section of the GJBX-132(82) summary report states:

"The data in the present report may not be identical to those reported previously. This is due to the use of different "scrub" procedures for the preparation of the data for release. The differences should be minor."

Data for gold analyses of sediments by SRL neutron activation were released in the GJBX-135(82) summary report. The introduction of that report states:

"This report contains previously unreported neutron-activation analyses of gold in sediment samples determined at SRL. These data were not included in the standard SRL NURE data reports because the gold spectrum was not measured in the original analytical procedure and the report format was designed without the gold analyses being included. Gold analyses became available as the analytical procedure was refined, but the report format was not modified to incorporate these data."

Only those sediment samples that had detectable concentrations of gold by neutron activation analysis were given in the GJBX-135(82) report. Sediment samples with concentrations below detection limits were not reported and can only be ascertained by identifying which samples were actually analyzed by neutron activation at SRL.

The following is a general listing of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Ely quadrangle. The actual number of records in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files may be greater because of the multiple records needed to preserve all the data.

*Summary of Ely quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	9	Streams	10
Dry Streams	1,619	Wells	37
Soils	328	Springs	237
Talus	15
Other (may include mine tailings)	63
Total Sediments	2,034	Total Waters	284

These Ely quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:

Sediment Samples

SR1: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of sediments for U.
SR2: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Sc, Sm, Th, Ti, V, and Yb. (Note: Au values were reported later for this method.)
OR2: Oak Ridge Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for U.
OR7: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.

Water Samples

SR4: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of waters for U.
SR6: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of waters for Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, Mg, Mn, Na, and V.
OR13: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr. (Note: Nb and Th may be included in this method.)

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from all of the above reports. The site information for every record in the GJBX-23(82) and GJBX-169(82) quadrangle reports was checked against the "equivalent" record in the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and any major differences were noted in the REFORMAT comment field.

In the sediment data file, the analytical data for the 19 sediment samples analyzed both by SRL and ORGDP could not be combined into a single record for each sample. Also, in the water data file the SRL analyses and supplemental analyses could NOT be combined because of overlapping determinations for 5 elements. Therefore each sample that was analyzed by both labs has 2 separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the ORGDP analysis.

Gold concentrations from the GJBX-135(82) report were added to the appropriate sediment records. A value of -0.01 (<0.01 ppm Au) was added to all other sediment samples determined to have been analyzed by SRL neutron activation. This value was chosen because 0.01 is the lowest reported gold concentration in the entire report.

Download The Data

The NURE HSSR data are now available online in two databases: The sediment database (also includes data for soils and some rocks) at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/sediment/ and the water database at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/water/. From these two websites, NURE HSSR data can be selected, examined, summarized, and downloaded by political boundaries (State and County), by quadrangle (1:250,000-scale, 1:100,000-scale, and 1:63,360-scale for Alaska or 1:24,000-scale for the Lower 48 States), and by hydrologic unit (drainage region, subregion, river basin, or sub-basin). Selected data can be downloaded as a dBase file, a shapefile, an HTML table, or ASCII text (tab- or comma-delimited).

Ely Quadrangle Sediment Data - 2,052 records
Ely Quadrangle Water Data - 566 records

Notes for Data Users

Many records contain analytical values with insignificant digits. Most data should only have 2 or 3 significant digits. Differences after the second or third digit should be ignored.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Ely Quadrangle

A report on the geology and mineral resources of the Ely quadrangle prepared for the Savannah River Laboratory can be found in the GJBX-7(83) report. No geochemistry accompanies this report.

Ely Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Cook, J.R., and Fay, W.M., 1982, Data report: Western United States: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-28, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-132(82), 33 p.
Fay, W.M., and Cook, J.R., 1982, Gold analyses by neutron activation from SRL NURE samples: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-38, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-135(82), 45 p.
Karfunkel, B.S., compiler, 1983, Geology and mineral resources of the Caliente, Ely, Klamath Falls, Vya, and Wells 1° x 2° quadrangles: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-15, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-7(83), 96 p.
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Ely quadrangle, Nevada; Utah: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-406, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-23(82), 150 p.
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1982, HSSR Basic Data for Caliente, Lund, Ely, and Elko quadrangles, Nevada; Utah: Union Carbide Corporation-Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-449, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-169(82)
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1982, Supplement to HSSR basic data reports K/UR-445 through K/UR-457 [GJBX-165(82) through GJBX-177(82)]: Union Carbide Corporation-Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-458, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-164(82), 25 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Nevada NURE data
Back to Utah NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data

Page written by Andrew W. Holt and Steven M. Smith
Contact: Steven M. Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Version 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.40: January 13, 2006

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U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_ely.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:12 EDT 2016

National Geochemical Database—Reformatted Data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) Program By Steven M. Smith Version 1.40 (2006)