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Robert M. Moxham

Publications and source records attributed to Robert M. Moxham.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1954

Airborne radioactivity surveys for phosphate in Florida

Airborne radioactivity surveys totaling 5, 600 traverse miles were made in 10 areas in Florida, which were thought to be geologically favorable for deposits of uraniferous phosphate. Abnormal radioactivity was recorded in 8 of the 10 areas surveyed. The anomalies are located in Bradford, Clay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Lake, Marion, Orange, Sumter, Taylor, and Union Counties. Two of the anomalies were investigated briefly on the ground. One resulted from a deposit of river-pebble phosphate in the Peace River valley; the river-pebble samples contain an average of 0.013 percent equivalent uranium. The other anomaly resulted from outcrops of leached phosphatic rock containing as much as 0. 016 percent equivalent uranium. Several anomalies in other areas were recorded at or near localities where phosphate deposits have been reported.

Florida↗
USGS1953

Airborne radioactivity surveys for phosphate in Florida

Airborne radioactivity surveys totalling 5,600 traverse miles were made in ten areas in Florida, which were thought to be geologically favorable for the occurrence of uraniferous phosphate deposits. Abnormal radioactivity was recorded in eight of the ten areas surveyed. The anomalies are located in Bradford, Clay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Lake, Marion, Orange, Sumter, Taylor, and Union Counties. Two of the anomalies were investigated briefly on the ground. One resulted from a deposit of river-pebble phosphate in the Peace River valley; samples of the river pebble contain an average of 0.013 percent equivalent uranium. The other anomaly resulted from outcrops of leached phosphate rock containing as much as 0.016 percent equivalent uranium. Several anomalies in other areas were recorded at or near localities where phosphate deposits have been reported to occur.

Florida↗
USGS1952

Marl deposits in the Wasilla area, Alaska

Marl occurs in several localities in the Cook Inlet area in south-central Alaska. The most significant known deposits are found in the Wasilla area, about 30 miles north of the city of Anchorage. In this area marl has been deposited in three fresh water lakes--Wasilla Lake, Finger Lake and Lucile Lake. The accumulation of the high-lime material (which is still in progress) has taken place in sheltered embayments and shallow marginal areas of the lakes with algae probably acting as precipitating agents. In some instances the embayments have been completely filled with marl and subsequently overlain by a layer of muskeg, effectively sealing off the deposits from the lake proper. The marl in and adjacent to Wasilla and Finger Lakes attains a maximum thickness of about 21 feet, while the deposits in Lucile Take are generally thinner and discontinuous, but relatively widely distributed. Some of the material probably would be of suitable composition for the manufacture of portland cement, but the amount of such material discovered to date is insufficient for this purpose.

Alaska↗
USGS1952

Interim report on an appraisal of the uranium possibilities of Alaska

Summaries of the geology and mineral deposits, and appraisals of the uranium possibilities of the various regions of Alaska are presented in this report. A short statement on previous knowledge and investigation of radioactive materials in the Territory is also given. The review of data and appraisal for the Seward Peninsula-Jobuk, Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim, Upper Yukon, Alaska Railroad-Iliamna, and southeastern Alaska regions are essentially complete. Those of the Copper River, Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian and northern Alaska regions are not yet complete. A more detailed presentation of these latter regions will be made in the final report. The appraisals are based on known occurrences of radioactive materials and geologic criteria that suggest the presence of uranium. Review of published and unpublished data to date shows that the Seward Peninsula-Kobuk region and southeastern Alaska followed by the Alaska Railroad, Gulf of Alaska and Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim regions are perhaps the more promising regions of the Territory for the occurrence of high-grade uranium ores.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1952

Radioactive minerals in the Yakataga beach placers, southern Alaska

Radioactivity of nine samples of beach placer deposits in the Yakataga area, southern Alaska, was studied in 1948. The samples were given to the Geological Survey by prospectors operating in the area operating in the area. The heavy-mineral fractions from the concentrates average 0.044 percent equivalent uranium. Three minerals, all members of the zircon group, contain the radioactive material in the sample; one mineral is uranium-bearing, the other two are thorium-bearing. Unless the concentration of radioactive minerals in the beach deposits is considerably higher than the present qualitative data indicate, the placers at Yakataga beach do not constitute a feasible source of supply of radioactive materials.

Alaska↗
USGS1952

Airborne radioactivity surveys in the Mojave Desert region, Kern, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, California

Airborne radioactivity surveys in the Mojave Desert region Kern, Riverside, and Bernardino counties were made in five areas recommended as favorable for the occurrence of radioactive raw materials: (1) Rock Corral area, San Bernardino County. (2) Searles Station area, Kern county. (3) Soledad area, Kern County. (4) White Tank area, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. (5) Harvard Hills area, San Bernardino County. Anomalous radiation was detected in all but the Harvard Hills area. The radioactivity anomalies detected in the Rock Corral area are of the greatest amplitude yet recorded by the airborne equipment over natural sources. The activity is apparently attributable to the thorium-beating mineral associated with roof pendants of crystalline metamorphic rocks in a granitic intrusive. In the Searles Station, Soledad, and White Tank area, several radioactivity anomalies of medium amplitude were recorded, suggesting possible local concentrations of radioactive minerals.

California↗
USGS1951

Cement raw materials available to the Windy Creek area, Alaska

The high cost of imported cement and the strategic advantages of a local source of supply for the military establishment have led to a growing interest in the possibility of cement manufacture in interior Alaska. A plant location in the Alaska Railroad belt seems desirable in view of the advantages of rail transportation and the accessibility of the principal interior markets. A cement manufacturing operation would require essentially four types of raw materials: 1) calcareous material, 2) argillaceous material, 3) fuel and 4) gypsum. The relatively favorable location of limestones near Windy station on the Alaska Railroad has led to the investigation of the potential raw materials which would be available to that region. Three limestone deposits of commercial size occur in the Devonian rocks of the Alaska Range in the Windy Creek area. Two appear to be of suitable chemical character. They are located approximately 7 and 11 miles west of the Railroad respectively. Twenty-four deposits of various types of argillaceous materials in the Healy River and Windy Creek areas have been sampled and analyzed chemically. Sufficient and presumably suitable fuel for a potential cement operation appears to be available from the coal mines in the Healy River area. Gypsum occurs at Sheep Mountain, 120 miles southeast of the Windy Creek area. Potentially sufficient tonnages are available to meet the requirements of a cement plant, but little has been done to develop the deposits. The raw materials now available probably would be suitable for type I cement, although the alkali limit probably would be exceeded if no means of beneficiation were employed.

Alaska↗
USGS1950

Trace elements reconnaissance in the Jakolof Bay area, southern Alaska

As a result of inquiries by prospectors in 1948 concerning radioactive ores in the vicinity of Jakolof Bay on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska, the Geological Survey conducted a brief investigation during 1949. No radioactive material was found. Possibly a chromite stockpile in this locality was mistaken for pitchblende.

Alaska↗