Fermiite is a rare

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 ...

mineral with the formula Na₄(UO₂)(SO₄)₃·3H₂O.Kampf, A.R., Plášil, J., Kasatkin, A.V., Marty, J., and Čejka, J., 2015. Fermiite, Na₄(UO₂)(SO₄)₃·3H₂O and oppenheimerite, Na₂(UO₂)(SO₄)₂·3H₂O, two new uranyl sulfate minerals from the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA. Mineralogical Magazine 79(5), 1123-1142 Chemically related minerals include

oppenheimerite Oppenheimerite is a very rare uranium mineral with the formula Na2(UO2)(SO4)2•3H2O. Chemically related minerals include fermiite, natrozippeite, plášilite, belakovskiite and meisserite. Most of these uranyl sulfate minerals were originally ...

meisserite Meisserite is a very rare uranium mineral with the formula Na5(UO2)(SO4)3(SO3OH)(H2O).Plášil, J., Kampf, A.R., Kasatkin, A.V., and Marty, J., Škoda, R., Silva, S., and Čejka, J., 2013. Meisserite, Na5(UO2)(SO4)3(SO3OH)(H2O), a new uranyl sulfa ...

(which is also structurally-related to fermiite),

belakovskiite Belakovskiite is a very rare uranium mineral with the formula Na7(UO2)(SO4)4(SO3OH)(H2O)3.Kampf, A.R., Plášil, J., Kasatkin, A.V., and Marty, J., 2014. Belakovskiite, Na7(UO2)(SO4)4(SO3OH)(H2O)3, a new uranyl sulfate mineral from the Blue Lizard ...

, natrozippeite and

plášilite Plášilite is a very rare uranium mineral with the formula Na2(UO2)(SO4)2•3H2O. Chemically related minerals include natrozippeite, belakovskiite, meisserite, fermiite and oppenheimerite. Most of these uranyl sulfate minerals were originally fou ...

. Fermiite comes from the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA, which is known for many rare uranium minerals.Kampf, A.R., Plášil, J., Kasatkin, A.V., Marty, J., and Čejka, J., 2015. Fermiite, Na4(UO2)(SO4)3·3H2O and oppenheimerite, Na2(UO2)(SO4)2·3H2O, two new uranyl sulfate minerals from the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA. Mineralogical Magazine 79(5), 1123-1142 The name honors

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian and naturalized American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project ...

(1901–1954).

Association

Fermiite is closely associated with numerous other sulfate minerals:

, bluelizardite, wetherillite,

blödite Blödite or bloedite is a hydrated sodium magnesium sulfate mineral with the formula Na2Mg(SO4)2·4H2O. The mineral is clear to yellow in color often darkened by inclusions and forms monoclinic crystals. Blödite was first described in 1821 for ...

manganoblödite Manganoblödite is a rare manganese mineral with the formula Na2Mn(SO4)2·4H2O. Somewhat chemically similar mineral is D'Ansite-(Mn). Manganoblödite was found in the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, US, which is known for several relativ ...

chalcanthite Chalcanthite (, ) is a richly colored blue-green water-soluble sulfate mineral . It is commonly found in the late-stage oxidation zones of copper deposits. Due to its ready solubility, chalcanthite is more common in arid regions. Chalcanthite i ...

epsomite Epsomite, Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, is a hydrous magnesium sulfate mineral with formula . Physical properties Epsomite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. The normal form is as massive encrustations, while acicula ...

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

hexahydrite Magnesium sulfate or magnesium sulphate is a chemical compound, a salt with the formula , consisting of magnesium cations (20.19% by mass) and sulfate anions . It is a white crystalline solid, soluble in water but not in ethanol. Magnesium su ...

kröhnkite Kröhnkite ( Na2Cu(SO4)2•2H2O ) is a rare copper sulfate mineral named after B. Kröhnke who first researched it. Kröhnkite may be replaced by Saranchinaite, the anhydrous form of the mineral, if heated to temperatures above 200 °C (392&n ...

, sideronatrite and tamarugite.

Crystal structure

The main building block of the crystal structure of fermiite is a chain of the composition (UO₂)(SO₄)₃. Chains are connected with five types of Na-O polyhedra.

References

Uranium(VI) minerals Sulfate minerals Sodium minerals Hydroxide minerals Orthorhombic minerals Minerals in space group 31 {{sulfate-mineral-stub