Uranofana
Uranofana is a mineral with formula Ca(UO₂)₂(SiO₃OH)₂·5H₂O, in the Silicatos group. This specimen comes from Kalongwe Deposit ?, Kolwezi ?, Mutshatsha ?, Alto Katanga, República Democrática del Congo (ex-Zaire) and joined the Terrium collection in 1962.
Description
Pseudocircular thumbnail. Black rock with a yellow and orange crust. Flat fibrous layer of yellow uranophane with orange areas on a dark matrix. The fibers are fine and tightly packed, with a silky matte luster and a radiating arrangement. Very strong visual contrast between the black core and the yellowish coating. It gives 29.50 µSv/h.
History of this specimen
A historical specimen from the Mineralogisch-Petrologisches Museum der Universität Bonn, originating from the collection of Dr. Bodron. It is preserved in its original rigid cardboard museum box with an internal glass mount and accompanied by a handwritten label dated 1962. However, this label seems to convey much earlier information; the use of the term 'uranotil,' the style of the chemical formula, and the notation 'Dr. Bodron ded.'—very likely in the sense of 'dedit,' meaning 'donated by Dr. Bodron'—all point to an old labeling tradition. Furthermore, the handwriting on the card appears on other specimens from different collections, suggesting that the University of Bonn may have reclassified or relabeled historical holdings from the late 19th or early 20th century at that time. Thus, while the physical card dates to 1962, the information it preserves likely derives from a much older source. Additionally, the typology of the specimen and the historical context of the relabeling make a different original provenance plausible, possibly Shinkolobwe
About Uranofana
Uranophane is a secondary uranium silicate formed by the supergene alteration of primary uraniferous minerals. It exhibits an acicular or fibrous habit and a characteristic yellow color
About the locality
The label points to Kalongwe with hesitation, and the geography it describes mixes provinces and borders; everything suggests that someone at the University of Bonn was trying to catalog the specimen by "guessing" its origin based on the few 19th or early 20th-century notes available to them. During the world wars and the reorganizations of European museums, it was very common for material from Katanga to lose its precise data. But geologically, the highly radioactive, massive black core and the silky carpet of yellow uranophane with orange crusts (pointing to curite, soddyite, and kasolite) is the unmistakable "signature style" and typology of Shinkolobwe: Discovered in 1915, this is where the uranium for the Manhattan Project (the 1945 atomic bombs) was mined. Due to its strategic importance, the mine was shrouded in absolute secrecy for decades. Because of all this, its true history likely faded over time until someone rescued and relabeled it—using whatever data they had on hand, yet incorrectly—in that German laboratory at the University of Bonn.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0211
- Composition
- Ca(UO₂)₂(SiO₃OH)₂·5H₂O
- Name
- Uranofana
- Group
- Silicatos
- Category
- Núcleus Ardens
- Mine
- Kalongwe Deposit ?
- District / Municipality
- Kolwezi ?
- Province
- Mutshatsha ?
- Region
- Alto Katanga
- Country
- República Democrática del Congo (ex-Zaire)
- Size (cm)
- 2.4 x 2.3 x 0.5
- Weight
- 3.6 g
- Acquired
- 1962
- Ex-collection
- Dr. Bodron > Mineralogisches Institut Bonn
- Etymology
- From the Greek «ouranos» (uranium) and «phainesthai» (to appear, to show), alluding to the characteristic yellow color of uranium compounds.
- Quality
- Muy buena
- Value trend
- Estable
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