Uranophane ( Ca( U O₂)₂( SiO₃O H)₂·5 H₂O), also known as uranotile, is a rare calcium uranium silicate hydrate mineral that forms from the oxidation of other

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 ...

-bearing minerals. It has a yellow color and is

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 ...

. Alice Mary Weeks, and Mary E. Thompson of the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

, identified uranophane in 1953. Classic samples have been produced at Madawaska Mine near

Bancroft, Ontario Bancroft () is a town located on the York River (Ontario), York River in Hastings County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was first settled in the 1850s by descendants of the United Empire Loyalists and Irish immigrants. From the mid-1950s ...

References

Calcium minerals Uranium(VI) minerals Nesosilicates Pentahydrate minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 4 Luminescent minerals Minerals described in 1853 {{silicate-mineral-stub