The remote identification of uranium mining sites poses distinct challenges due to the absence of a unique spectral signature for uranium and the difficulty in distinguishing it from other heavy metals. The objective of this research is to improve our understanding of secondary uranium minerals produced through weathering and to compare these products to the secondary minerals produced by the weathering of waste from the mining of other metals.

Building a comprehensive spectral library of weathered mine waste, will enable us to develop remote sensing methods to differentiate uranium mining from other mines using space-based platforms. This study focuses on collecting the spectral signatures, from the optical to thermal domains (UV-Vis-SWIR reflectance spectroscopy), of weathering products from previoulsy collected U-bearing samples from the Judean Desert and the weathing products of standard mine-waste samples containing other trace metals, purchased from the Canadian Certified Reference Materials Project (CCRMP). Both sets of samples will be exposed to chemical weathering experiments conducted in the laboratory and the development of weathering minerals will be monitored.

Although uranium itself does not exhibit a distinct spectral signature, previous studies have identified the potential of remote sensing to detect weathering products formed from naturally uranium-bearing rocks. These products display significant and measurable spectral absorption features that are altered by the presence and variations in the concentration of uranium.

The creation of a comprehensive spectral library containing both U-bearing and non U-bearing weathered materials will facilitate the remote sensing of uranium mining sites by bridging existing gaps in accessible uranium and trace-metal mineral spectra. Collected spectra will be added to spatial and spectral databases supporting local and global environmental monitoring models. The ability to distinguish between uranium-bearing materials and other “confuser” metals, will allow for the consistent and accurate remote detection of uranium mining and milling sites.