Vandenbrandeite
{{Short description|Oxide mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral|boxbgcolor=#277627|boxtextcolor = #fff|name=Vandenbrandeite|image=Vandenbrandeite makro2.jpg|formula=Cu(UO2)(OH)4| IMAsymbol = Vbd{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}|strunz=04.GB.45|system=Triclinic|dana=05.03.02.01|class=Triclinic-Pinacoidal|symmetry=P{{overline|1}}|unit cell=254.99 ų|color=Blackish green to dark green with bluish green tint|cleavage=Perfect on {001}, {110}
Distinct and also indisctinct in the [001] zone|fracture=None|tenacity=Brittle|mohs=4|luster=Vitreous, sub-vitreous, greasy|opticalprop=Biaxial (-)|refractive=nα = 1.765 - 1.770 nβ = 1.780 - 1.792 nγ = 1.800|birefringence=0.035|pleochroism=Visible|2V=Measured 90°
Calculated 60°- 88°|dispersion=Visible to strong|fluorescence=None|streak=Green|gravity=5.03|density=5.03|diaphaneity=Transparent, translucent|other=25px Radioactive}}
Vandenbrandeite is a mineral named after a belgian geologist, Pierre Van den Brande, who discovered an ore deposit. It was named in 1932, and has been a valid mineral ever since then.{{Cite web|title=Vandenbrandeite|url=https://www.mindat.org/min-4144.html|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.mindat.org}}
Properties
Vandenbrandeite grows in microcrystals, up to half a millimeter. It may be rounded, lathlike. The crystals are flattened on {001}. It grows in parallel aggregates, in a lamellar, scaly shape.{{Cite web|date=2017-03-27|title=Vandenbrandeite|url=https://nationalgemlab.in/vandenbrandeite/|access-date=2021-09-24|website=National Gem Lab|language=en-US}} It is tabular, meaning its dimensions in one direction are weak. It is a pleochroic mineral. Depending on the axis the mineral is seen the color of it changes, which is an optical phenomenon. On the x axis it can be seen as a blue-green, and on the z axis is seen as a yellow-green mineral. It is highly stable in the presence of both water and hydrogen peroxide. Vandenbrandeite, due to being strongly radioactive, is usually closely associated with other radioactive minerals.{{Cite web |title=Vandenbrandeite |url=https://www.nationalgemlab.in/vandenbrandeite/}} Its radioactive properties is due to its composition. The mineral is made out of 59.27% uranium, which is the main component of the mineral. It has a GRapi (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units) of 4,352,567.33. It has a concentration of 229.75 measured in GRapi. Other chemical elements included in vandenbrandeite are oxygen (23.9%), copper (15.82%) and hydrogen (1%). Although it is radioactive, the mineral is not fluorescent. It is a secondary mineral. {{Cite web|title=Vandenbrandeite Mineral Data|url=http://webmineral.com/data/Vandenbrandeite.shtml|access-date=2021-06-22|website=webmineral.com}}