Geomicrobiología para prospección de uranio en profundidad en la cuenca Neuquina, Argentina

Microbiological prospecting for oil is a widely used methodology, and it and is described in many published works. However, it is not frequent in uranium (U) mining, although there are some researchers who refer to some microorganisms such as Bacillus sp, which are used in bioremediation and could be useful for prospection. In this work, a microbiological relationship for prospection by U is proposed, under the hypothesis that it will be affected by the presence of deep U. The main objective of this study is to show that the microbiological relationship formed by Bacillus sp and Total Aerobic Mesophiles (B/TAM) is related to the presence of U and can be used as a complementary technique for prospection. Soil sampling was conducted in a 600 Km2 area of the Neuquina basin, Colonia Catriel, Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina. To determine spectrometric U, total chemical U, labile U and microbiology, 62 sites were sampled in duplicate, and eight wells were studied. with sampling by duplicated and 8 wells with different deep U concentrations. Furthermore, Radon emanometry and zoneograms of total, labile, and spectrometric U concentrations, as well as microbiological relationships, were analyzed. The results were subjected to a statistical analysis using principal components analysis and linear regression. This work shows a highly significant statistical linear correlation (R= 0,59 p<0,002) between geomicrobiology on surface and U concentration in depth. Future research should continue to include other elements from geochemistry, as well as geophysical characteristics, which could interfere with this geomicrobiological technique.