Sengierite is a rare oxide and hydroxide mineral, chemically a

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

and

uranyl The uranyl ion is an oxycation of uranium in the oxidation state +6, with the chemical formula . It has a linear structure with short U–O bonds, indicative of the presence of multiple bonds between uranium and oxygen. Four or more ligands ...

vanadate, belonging to the carnotite group. Its chemical formula is Cu₂(OH)₂ O₂VO₄sub>2·6H₂O. Sengierite was first discovered at the

Luiswishi Mine The Luiswishi mine is an open cut copper and cobalt mine in Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Early years Luiswishi was one of the first copper and cobalt mines to be exploited in Katanga by Belgium, opened around 19 ...

about north of

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: (French), ( Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katang ...

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, ...

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was first described in 1949 by

Johannes F. Vaes Johannes Franciscus Vaes (1902 – 1978) was a Belgian mineralogist and geologist associated with the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, in Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Vaes discovered the mineral Vaesite, which was ...

and

Paul F. Kerr Dr. Paul F. Kerr (12 February 1897 – 27 February 1981), was a Professor of Mineralogy at Columbia University. During the second World War, he was tasked with locating and procuring supplies of uranium for the Manhattan Project. Kerr had an a ...

, the mineral was named after Edgar Sengier (1879–1963), a former Director of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga.

References

Bibliography

* Palache, P.; Berman H.; Frondel, C. (1960). "''Dana's System of Mineralogy, Volume II: Halides, Nitrates, Borates, Carbonates, Sulfates, Phosphates, Arsenates, Tungstates, Molybdates, Etc. (Seventh Edition)"'' John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, pp. 1047–1048. copper(II) minerals phosphate minerals uranium(VI) minerals {{phosphate-mineral-stub