Uranopilite is a minor

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

with the chemistry ( U O₂)₆ SO₄(O H)₆O₂·14 H₂O or, hydrated uranyl sulfate hydroxide. As with many uranyl minerals, it is

fluorescent Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...

and

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

. It is straw yellow in normal light. Uranopilite fluoresces a bright green under

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of th ...

. Uranopilite contains clusters of six uranyl pentagonal bipyramids that share equatorial edges and vertices, with the clusters cross-linked to form chains by sharing vertices with sulfate tetrahedra. In uranopilite, the chains are linked directly by hydrogen bonds, as well as to interstitial H₂O groups. Uranopilite is associated with other uranyl minerals such as

zippeite Zippeite is a hydrous potassium uranium sulfate mineral with formula: K4( U O2)6( SO4)3(O H)10·4( H2O). It forms yellow to reddish brown monoclinic-prismatic crystals with perfect cleavage. The typical form is as encrustations and pulverulent ea ...

and johannite and, like them, is usually found as an

efflorescent In chemistry, efflorescence (Derived from the Latin verb 'efflorescere' roughly meaning 'to flower') is the migration of a salt to the surface of a porous material, where it forms a coating. The essential process involves the dissolving of an i ...

crust in uranium mines. Notable occurrences include: * Wheal Owles,

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* San Juan County,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, US *

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n region of

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References

Progress in Solid State Chemistry

ATHENA MINERAL: Mineral Data
Uranium(VI) minerals Sulfate minerals Triclinic minerals Minerals in space group 2 {{Sulfate-mineral-stub

See also

References