Mineralogy of Uranium

One of the interesting features of uranium deposits is their widespread occurrence from a geographical point of view as shown in Table 1.4 that lists the countries with 2% of the world uranium production (there are several other countries that also have uranium production facilities). 

There is also a large variability from a geological aspect of the types of minerals and their geological deposits, where as many as 14 types have been described (Grenthe 2006). It has been stated that The low crustal abundance of uranium belies its mineralogical and geochemical significance more than five percent of minerals known today contain uranium as an essential constituent. (Burns and Finch 1999). 

List of Countries with More Than 2% of the World Share of Combined Reserves and their Historical Production (in Metric Tons) 

Country Reserves as of 2009 World Share (%) Historical Production to 2008 World Share (%) 

Source Adapted from http //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of countries by uranium resarves, accessed July 26, 2014. 

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C. Frondel, Systematic Mineralogy of Uranium and Thorium, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1064, Washington, D.C., 1958. 

Frondel, C. 1958. Systematic mineralogy of uranium and thorium. US Geological Survey Bulletin, 1064, 400. 

Soboleva MV, Pudovkina lA (1957) Mineralogy of Uranium Handbook. Moscow Dept Tech Lit USSR Sokolova EV, Egorov-Tismenko YuK (1990) Crystal stmcture of girvasite. Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR 311 ... 

D Arcy, G., Mineralogy of uranium- and thorium-bearing minerals, U.S.A.E.C., ReportRMO-563, (1951). Cited on page 394. 

The geological term, uranium occurrence, implies a naturally occurring anomalous concentration of uranium. The term, uranium deposit, implies a mass of naturally occurring mineral material from which uranium could be exploited at present or in the future. An often-encountered term in uranium mineralogy is uranium ore mineral. It is a mineral having such physical and chemical properties and occurring in a deposit in such concentra-... 

Depending upon lithologic and structural relationship with host rocks, mineralogy, attendant alteration, paragenesis and spatial and temporal constraints, the uranium resources of the world can be assigned to the 15 main categories of uranium ore deposits. They have been shown numerically numbered in sequence in the order of their approximate economic significance in Table 1.18. At present, only 7 can be said to be economically important (see Table 1.19) and these account for more than 95% of the world resources of ura-... 

The aim of this study is to use mineralogical and geochemical tools for characterization of both types of uranium mineralization and possible identification of the U source(s). 

German chemist and pharmacist. The most distinguished German mineralogi-cal and analytical chemist of his time. His careful analyses led to the discovery of uranium and zirconium and verified the discovery of tellurium and titanium. He also made pioneer researches on ceria (97). 

Martin Heinrich Klaproth made many brilliant contributions to analytical and mineralogical chemistry (33), and was a pioneer in the chemical investigation of antiquities such as Greek, Roman, and Chinese coins, ancient glasses, and prehistoric metallic objects (70). His papers are assembled in his Beitrage zur chemischen Kenntniss der Mineral-korper, a six-volume work. Although he never discovered an element in the sense of isolating it for the first time, his analytical work foreshadowed the discovery of uranium and zirconium and verified the discovery of tellurium and titanium. 

In 1877 the American mineralogical chemist J. Lawrence Smith named a mineral from North Carolina, a columbate of uranium, hatchetto-lite, because Hatchett s discovery of columbium (niobium) was clear, precise, and well made out, and has never been controverted (35). 

Finch. R. J. Murakami, T. 1999. Systematics and paragenesis of uranium minerals. In Burns, P. C. Finch, R. (eds) Uranium Mineralogy, Geochemistry and the Environment. Mineralogical Society of America, Reviews in Mineralogy, 38, 91-180. 

Oklo and Bangombe shows that the geological location, the mineralogy of the hosted rocks, and the chemistry of the fluids are important parameters for the preservation of the uranium deposits and of the natural nuclear reactors and that this information could be used to design and select materials for high-level waste disposal. 

Pichler, T., Hendry, M.J. and Hall, G.E.M. (2001) The mineralogy of arsenic in uranium mine tailings at the Rabbit Lake in-pit facility, northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Environmental Geology, 40(4-5), 495-506. 

That the atomic weight of uranium lead is extremely variable has already been shown. In order to interpret this variability its sources must be studied both geologically and mineralogically. On the geologic side of the question the uranium ore can be divided in to three principal classes, which are sharply distinct. The definitely crystallized varieties of uraninite occur in coarse pegmatites, associated with feldspar, quartz, mica, beryl, and other minor accessories. The massive pitchblende is found in metalliferous veins, together with sulphide ores of copper, lead, iron, zinc, and so forth. As for camotite, that is a secondary mineral, found commonly as an incrustation on sandstone, and often, also upon fossil wood. There may be other modes of occurrence, but these are the most distinctive. 

The laws of radioactive decay are the basis of chronology by nuclear methods. From the variation of the number of atoms with time due to radioactive decay, time differences can be calculated rather exactly. This possibility was realized quite soon after the elucidation of the natural decay series of uranium and thorium. Rutherford was the first to stress the possibility of determining the age of uranium minerals from the amount of helium formed by radioactive decay. Dating by nuclear methods is applied with great success in many fields of science, but mainly in archaeology, geology and mineralogy, and various kinds of chronometers are available. 

Our knowledge of the geochemistry and mineralogy of Venus surface primarily comes from six types of information (i) elemental analyses of several major elements by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy (ii) analyses of potassium, uranium, and thorium by y-ray spectroscopy ... 

This chapter focuses on the interactions of radionuclides with geomedia in near-surface low-temperature environments. Due to the limitations on the chapter length, this review will not describe the mineralogy or economic geology of uranium deposits the use of radionuclides as environmental tracers in studies of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere, the nature of the nuclear fuel cycle or processes involved in nuclear weapons production. Likewise, radioactive contamination associated with the use of atomic weapons during World War 11, the contamination of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere related to nuclear weapons testing, and concerns... 

Suzuki Y. and Banfield J. F. (1999) Geomicrobiology of uranium. In Reviews in Mineralogy. Uranium Mineralogy, Geochemistry and the Environment (eds. P. Bums and R. Finch). Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, DC, vol. 38, pp. 393-432. 

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