Context:

Microbiological prospecting for oil is a widely used methodology and is described in many published works. In uranium (U) mining it is not frequent, although there are some researchers who refer to some microorganisms as Bacillus sp, which are used in bioremediation and they could be able to do it in prospection. In this work we propose a microbiological relationship for prospection by U, hypothesizing that it will be affected by the presence of deep U. The main objective of this work is to show that the microbiological relationship formed by Bacillus sp /Total Aerobic Mesophiles (B/TAM) is related to the presence of U and it be able to use as complementary technique for prospection by U.

Methodology:

The soil sampling carried covers an area of 600 Km2 into oil-uraniferous Neuquina basin; it is near to the town of Colonia Catriel, Province of Río Negro, Argentina. Spectrometric U, total chemical U, labile U and microbiological determinations from 62 sites with sampling by duplicated and 8 wells with different U concentration in depth were studied. Furthermore, Radon Emanometry and Zoneograms of total, labile and spectrometric U concentrations and of the microbiological relationship were analyzed. Results were subjected to a statistical analysis using principal components and linear regression.

Results:

This work shows a highly significant statistical linear correlation between geomicrobiology on surface and U concentration in depth (R= 0,59 p<0,002).

Conclusion:

Research should continue to link other elements from geochemistry as well as geophysical characteristics that could be complemented with this geomicrobiological technique.