uranophane

{{Short description|Rare calcium uranium silicate hydrate mineral}}

{{Infobox mineral

| name = Uranophane

| boxwidth =

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| image = Uranophane.jpg

| imagesize = 260px

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| category = Uranyl neso- and polysilicates

| formula = Ca(UO₂)₂[HSiO₄]₂·5H₂O

| molweight = 586.36 g/mol

|IMAsymbol=Urp-α{{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 = 9.AK.15

| dana =

| system = Monoclinic

| class = Sphenoidal (2)
(same H-M symbol)

| symmetry = P2₁

| unit cell = a = 15.85 Å, b = 6.98 Å
c = 6.64 Å; β = 97.45°; Z = 2

| color = Light yellow, lemon-yellow, honey-yellow, straw-yellow, green-yellow

| colour =

| habit = Crystals occur as stellate needle aggregates; as fibrous crusts, and massive

| twinning =

| cleavage = {100} Perfect

| fracture = Uneven

| tenacity = Brittle

| mohs = 2.5

| luster = Vitreous to pearly; waxy or dull when massive

| streak = Yellowish white

| diaphaneity = Translucent to subtranslucent

| gravity = 3.81–3.90

| density =

| polish =

| opticalprop = Biaxial (−)

| refractive = n_α = 1.643 n_β = 1.666 n_γ = 1.669

| birefringence = δ = 0.026

| pleochroism = Weak; X = colorless; Y = pale canary-yellow; Z = canary-yellow

| 2V = 32° to 45°, measured

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| fluorescence = Weak yellow-green under both short and long UV

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| other = 25px Radioactive

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| references = [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/uranophanealpha.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy][http://www.mindat.org/min-4107.html Uranophane on Mindat.org][http://webmineral.com/data/Uranophane.shtml Uranophane on Webmineral]

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Uranophane (Ca(UO₂)₂(SiO₃OH)₂·5H₂O), also known as uranotile, is a rare calcium uranium silicate hydrate mineral that forms from the oxidation of other uranium-bearing minerals. It has a yellow color and is radioactive.

Alice Mary Weeks, and Mary E. Thompson of the United States Geological Survey, identified uranophane in 1953.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nbUPAAAAIAAJ&q=Alice+D.+Weeks&pg=RA2-PA39 |title=Geology of the Mount Pinchot Quadrangle, Southern Sierra Nevada, California |last=Moore |first=James Gregory |date=1963 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}

Classic samples have been produced at Madawaska Mine near Bancroft, Ontario.{{Cite journal|last=McDougall|first=Raymond|date=2019-09-03|title=Mineral Highlights from the Bancroft Area, Ontario, Canada|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00357529.2019.1619134|journal=Rocks & Minerals|volume=94|issue=5|pages=408–419|doi=10.1080/00357529.2019.1619134|bibcode=2019RoMin..94..408M |s2cid=201298402|issn=0035-7529|url-access=subscription}}

File:Cuprosklodowskite-Uranophane-69261.jpg

(green) altering to Uranophane (yellow needles). Musonoi Mine, Kolwezi, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo]]

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