radioactive mineral photos.. post them!!

Melanocerite,Tritomite,Caryocerite,Cardiff Uranium Mine, Cardiff, Ontario, Canada, 4.5 x 2.5 x 2 cm. Ex. Howard Hamilton Collection.

Hello Jay,

Do you have an analysis or reference for the species in your Cardiff sample? They are not listed as being found there. Also melanocerite is now the same as tritomite. If you go to [pubsites.uws.edu.au] and click on "IMA Reports" you will find a link to "Nomenclature of the apatite supergroup minerals: Eur. J. Min., 22 (2010),163-179." you will see in the abstract, point 3. what I am refering to.

That "Torbenite" doesn't look like Torbenite. It looks VERY much like hundreds of Malachite specimens I have seen/owned/handled. Have you checked to see that it is radioactive?

Hello Michael,

Which torbernite are you refering to? Can you copy and paste the link here so I can find it.

Reiner, The specimen only came with Howards label. Howard was a chemist for the Bureau of Mines in Utah during the 1950's uranium boom and an avid systematic mineral collector.

Beautiful photo, from Ernie. Can you tell me the contact.s email address on where I can purchase orange FRANCEVILLITE from GABON ??
mY address is cambruce@yahoo.com, Toronto, Canada. Thanks...

Hello Bruce;

You can buy some at this auction site: [www.e-rocks.com]

Subhedral tan microlites from Harding Pegmatite, Taos Co. New Mexico, sitting on weathered spodumene lathes.



While these 2mm crystals are not spectacular, you can see the effect of their radioactivity. When covered by quartz, you can see a smokey halo around each included microlite.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2010 03:06PM by Dean Allum.

Here is one of my favorite HOT ones, a 19.8 x 22.2 x 20.8 mm Thorianite from Betroka, Madagascar.

Here is a 1 x 0.5 cm Uraninite from Cardiff Uranium Mine. It gives off 26 µSv/hr. Found loose, mostly intact.

Michal.

It's Sunday and raining so I thought I'd contribute, here's a few Davidites my friend John Chivers collected a while ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2010 02:52AM by Ed Richard.

Very nice Davidite crystals !

I've had the good fortune of a visit from Toby a few days ago and he was willing to sell me a few of these beautiful specimens. I've posted a picture of a compilation of some more interesting ones just thought it would be nice for you guys and gals to have a look at in the light of this conversation around Saleeite from the Ranger mine.

Cheers,
Ed

The Torbernite that I say looks very much like Malachite and not Torbernite is the 2nd photo in the 10th post of this topic, back on Page 1.

Ed, why don't you upload those Davidite pictures to the Mindat gallery. Those are pretty good Davidite crystals. Who did the analysis? Where are they from. I would use them in our Davidite, Best Minerals article.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Some great radioactive minerals posted
Some that i have in my collection

Davidite
Billeroo Prospect, Plumbago station. SA, AU




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2010 10:11AM by Trevor Kitto.

This is my Alltime Favorite, a >80 Gram Uranothorianite from Madagascar.
(3 x 2 x 2 cm)

I'ts really hot and looks surprisingly harmless like a common black rock. But it is very heavy and the geigercounter can "find" it really easy.

Hello Michael,

The Torbernite that I say looks very much like Malachite and not Torbernite is the 2nd photo in the 10th post of this topic, back on Page 1.

Yes it does from a distance. You would have to have a closeup to know for sure. However I would assume the poster has determined that it is radioactive, also torbernite crystals are very different from malachite so it is very unlikely anyone would get the two mixed up.

[www.mindat.org]

Here's something from one of our collecting trips this year

Euxenite - Y with mica - double terminated thumbnail - more photos in the link above.

Reiner

…it is very unlikely anyone would get the two mixed up

Last year I bought a few Torbernites sight-unseen from a US dealer. They were nothing special, but for the price they were great. So I promptly placed another order for 30 of them. They only had 19 left so they sent those. Unfortunately 11 of the 19 were Malachite in a form very similar to that in the photo in question. Upon discussing the situation with the dealer on the phone, they apologized, arranged for a return of the non-Torbernite Malachite’s, and said they had picked them up at the 2009 Tucson show, and they were all labeled Torbernite. So at least one dealer at Tucson got the two mixed up, and the outfit I bought them from got them mixed up. And someone who isn't overly familar with them might have bought from either of the 2 sources mentioned and think they have Torbernite when it is a non-radioactive mineral such as Malachite.

The photo is not very good, so there is a chance that it is Torbernite, but as is it looks much more like Malachite than Torbernite to me. If it is radioactive, then it is not Malachite, hence the inquiry, "Did you see if it was radioactive"?

--Michael--