Mineral Mondays #61 Uranium Minerals

Ya, I know it's Tuesday. I'm late!

Being a mineral collector it is inevitable that you get to the more exotic & dangerous minerals to collect like lead, cinnabar(mercury), arsenic and one of the most dangerous, uranium minerals.

The good thing about uranium minerals is they often aren't highly concentrated uranium. The bad thing about uranium minerals however is they are still very dangerous and should not be handled. They release alpha & gamma radiation which can damage your organs. The main danger comes from the inhaling uranium dust or ingesting uranium particles, so if you see these minerals in the wild you should leave them be for the professionals.

Having said that, here are some of the uranium infused minerals I have collected.

Boltwoodite
Boltwoodite is one of my favorite uranium minerals to collect. It's a hydrated potassium uranyl silicate mineral, HK(UO2)(SiO4)·1.5(H2O), that forms through the oxidization of uranium bearing ore. The sprays of yellow crystals it forms are stunning, but small.

The pictured boltwoodite fans are about 2-3mm per spot.

Uranyl Opal
Uranyl opals are opals that contain small amounts of uranium which causes them to fluoresce. The uranyl opals I have are from Utah, but they are found all over the world. In fact Utah is known for it's large range of uranium minerals.

Zippeite
Zippeite is another uranium mineral from Utah. A hydrous potassium uranium sulfate, K4(UO2)6(SO4)3(OH)10·4(H2O). It was discovered in The Chech Republic in the 1850's. Originally it was used in paint's due to it's vibrant yellow color. I wonder how many homes in Europe still might have uranium paints on their walls!?

While it is naturally bright yellow, It's even brighter yellow under long wave UV light.

Speaking of zippeite & Utah, there is a mine in South East Utah called the Blue Lizard Mine. It was a uranium mine several acquaintances of mine went into and discovered a bunch of uranium minerals like Alwilkinsite, Bobcookite, and Bluelizardite to name a few. Infact, I think I have some bluelizardite packed away. Yes, here it is.

Bluelizardite is actually green/yellow. It's another uranyl sulfate mineral. The blue mineral is chalcanthite.

Uranium is actually semi-common being the 51st most abundant mineral on Earth. It's more common than silver, mercury and tin. In it's main ore you probably wouldn't even know what it is. That main ore is called uraninite or pitchblende and is a dark black to brown to yellow in color. Typically it is botryoidal or octahedral. Here is an incredible octahedral specimen of uraninite crystals.

That's it for this post. I have to go figure out why my hands are suddenly very itchy. JK!