Uranopilite is a minor

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the 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. Uranium is weak ...

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 the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, ...

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 consi ...

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

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

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

efflorescent In chemistry, efflorescence (which means "to flower out" in French) 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 internally held salt in water, o ...

crust in uranium mines. Notable occurrences include: *

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* San Juan County,

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, US * Northwest Territories,

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* Bohemian 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