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Zircons from mantle sources
are low in uranium
(generally < 66 ppm U).
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Zircons and Diamonds occur
in a variety of mantle rocks.
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Zircons are very resistant
to weathering and persist in drainage systems.
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The presence of low uranium
zircons in stream samples and other recent sediments can therefore
indicate derivation of material from potential diamondiferous
source rocks.
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Zircons can be easily extracted
from bulk samples with standard mineral separation techniques.
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The Fission Track Technique
is a low cost, rapid turnaround method for determining uranium
content of individual zircon grains with a precision of ~10%
at the 10 ppm level).
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Large numbers of grains can
be screened quickly and cheaply to identify the presence of
low uranium zircon grains.