Do uranium mines tend to be near coal mines?

Question

In other words, if a region has lots of coal, is it likely to also have lots of uranium? Or is it just the opposite, that uranium is more likely to be plentiful in regions that don't have as much coal?

Answer 1

Generally coal and uranium mines are not found in the same place, at least in the United States.

Most Uranium mined in the United States is found in sandstone (in Western Cordillera region), the U deposits formed when reduced mineralizing brine (hot salty water with out oxygen) carried uranium into the sandstone beds, the uranium precipitated out of solution in the brine met oxygen rich water (oxidation). The U minerals mined are  carnotite and tyuyamunite.

Coal often contains small amounts of uranium (but not enough to be mined commercially). The plants that formed coal lived in tropical swamps, the "Seat Earth" on which the plants grew was intensely weathered in a hot tropical climate, concentrating background levels uranium in the soil.

Also, since coal contains elevated levels of uranium, coal ash is on average 100 times more radioactive then nuclear waste. And the coal fire power stations in the US have released far more radiation then all the nuclear power plants combined.

Yes, a average coal fired power station is more radioactive then a nuclear power station (on the outside).

Read: "Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste" By Mara Hvistendahl (Scientific American)

Answer 2

I can tell you that deposits of both uranium and coal are found in Virginia, USA.

To see a map of Virginia's uranium deposits, go to:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...

To see a map of Virginia's coal deposits, go to:

http://www.virginiaplaces.org/geology/co...

Also, google coal mines United States and then click on images.  Do the same for uranium mines.  Then you can compare the maps.  I just did that.