radioactive mineral photos.. post them!!

This was part of the same hodge podge collection that the previously posted uraninite with with unique base came from.

It is a beautiful water clear plastic casting about 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches, and hosts a transparent cast in label.

The casting is perfect. Not a bubble or a wave. Anyone seen one of these before?

It once had a much nicer sibling which sat on an open shelf in my living room. That assessment was shared by its thief.

It is worth noting that even cast in a brick of plastic the specimen still makes a gieger counter sing.

Oscar Herem owned the property that the Daybreak Mine existed in. He and his wife operated a movie set quality horseranch on a high knoll.

When I worked with Western Nuclear in 1969 and 1970 we ate lunch on the porch of their ranch and drew water from their highly radioactive well.

Oscar marketed "Uranium Jewelry" in the 1950s and 1960s. Small autunites cast into acrylic and mounted as the cinch in bola ties.

I used to collect lovely autunites in the Daybreak pit during my lunch hour.

I returned to the Daybreak two summers ago. No trace of the Herem Ranch or any trace of autunite in the Daybreak Pit. Gates everywhere, and all the lands have been purchased and all human culture reclaimed by a large logging company.

Oscar always said that the autunite from the nearby Bear Creek shaft was much greener and prettier than the Daybreak material. That's where he actually got his "good" stuff for his uranium jewelry. Back in 1969 I looked down into the watery shaft of the Bear Creek. When I returned I could find no trace of it. I had made plans with a noted mining money man to dewater it. All I found was a bunch of bow and arrow bear hunters who woke me up at 3 AM and many wild turkeys. The turkeys were a joy for my 120 pound German shepherd, and my dog was a joy to the bow hunters. They all wanted to know where they could get one like him. And my dog wanted to know how to get one of those stupid turkeys who outsmarted him all day long.

Bart



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2012 11:50PM by Bart Cannon.

Seems my previous post didn't succeed.

I'll try again. Note that my comment in the previous post no longer correctly refers to the "previous post".

Here is a very un-lovely uraninite, but it sits upon an interesting labeled base.

Anyone recognized this distinctive base?

It comes from a large hodge podge collection of radioactives that I bought several years ago.

Bart

This crudely crystalized uraninite is about 1.2 cm. in size and shows a distinct halo of radioactivity-produced damage in the surrounding quartz and feldspar. McKinny mine, Spruce Pine area, North Carolina. Circa 1966.



Cheers!

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2012 12:07AM by Stephen Rose.

I read a report done on the Trout Creek pegs, and all the euxenite was proven to be aeschynite-(Y).

Stephen Rose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another Colorado specimen, euxenite from Chaffee
> County. Probably from the Trout Creek Pass
> occurrences. 8.5x4x4 cm. This is essentially pure
> euxenite with minor surface alteration on part.
> Gift from Don and Dee Belsher, 1976.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Steve

Hello James,

Just curious about the report on the Trout Creek pegs that you refer to. Mindat lists 7 occurrences for euxenite in the Trout Creek Pass peg district and a total of 44 occurrences in Colorado. For aeschynite-(y) there are 4 Mindat localities listed for Colorado, one at Trout Creek Pass. There are a number of photographs of specimens shown with locations including the Trout Creek Pass peg district.

Some of the information about the euxenite at TCP is dated and may be the result of simply educated guesses by collectors and geologists, but a lot of it was processed through the USGS and was the result of serious field and laboratory programs to determine REE and related resources. The MRDS reports referenced in the Mindat location summary are examples. Many of these reports were generated when the USGS actually employed a lot of field geologists and a mineralogist or two. I don't know if that is the case now. Nelson-Moore et al (1978) summarizes many of the old AEC/USGS reports and does not mention aeschynite-(y) from this district, so maybe it is simply that there is better technology available today and the analysis is more refined.

In any case, an interesting observation. I have no real ax to grind here; I'll put a note with the specimen to indicate your comments and the reference if you will post it.

Regards,

Steve

James Christopher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I read a report done on the Trout Creek pegs, and
> all the euxenite was proven to be aeschynite-(Y).
>
> Stephen Rose Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Another Colorado specimen, euxenite from
> Chaffee
> > County. Probably from the Trout Creek Pass
> > occurrences. 8.5x4x4 cm. This is essentially
> pure
> > euxenite with minor surface alteration on part.
> > Gift from Don and Dee Belsher, 1976.
> >
> >
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Steve

Hi Steve,
The paper is a study of these pegmatites done in the early 90's. According to their research all the "euxenite" samples they collected and analyzed turned out to be either polycrase-(Y), or aeschynite-(Y). these two species are titanium dominant in the B-site whereas euxenite is niobium dominant. I have included a photo of the title page of the paper which has all the names of the scientists involved.

Cheers!
Rudy

Hello Rudy,

Thanks for the reference.

I have followed with interest your postings about your REE activities. With reference to use of the Ti/Nb ratios, I am not a chemist, but it would seem to me that the presence of U, Ce and Ta in euxenite, those elements being absent in ideal aeschynite-(y), and the presence of Fe in aeschynite-(y) but not in ideal euxenite would be useful in making these determinations as well.

Regards,

Steve


Rudy Bolona Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Steve,
> The paper is a study of these pegmatites done in
> the early 90's. According to their research all
> the "euxenite" samples they collected and analyzed
> turned out to be either polycrase-(Y), or
> aeschynite-(Y). these two species are titanium
> dominant in the B-site whereas euxenite is niobium
> dominant. I have included a photo of the title
> page of the paper which has all the names of the
> scientists involved.
>
> Cheers!
> Rudy

tyuyamunite, FOV=5mm, Poison Canyon Mine, Grants Dist., McKinley Co., NM w/ possible orange pascoite

Don, that is a lovely tyuyamunite!

Uraninite and coffinite, mine views, Pitch Mine, Marshall Pass District, Saguach County, Colorado

This specimen of essentially pure uraninite-coffinite and minor pyrite represents some of the richest ore found during Homestake Mining Companies' operations in the late 1970's. This specimen was found in the Deep Zone of the Main Pit on the North extension of the ores along the Chester fault. The dolomites of the Mississippian Leadville Formation contained much of the best ore here with lesser amounts of ore coming from the Pennsylvanian Belden Formation.


This specimen is 10x8x5 cm and weighs about 725 grams. It contains approximately 60-70% U3O8.

Main Pit looking north along strike of the Chester fault. Uranium mineralization is localized in the Paleozoic Leadville and Belden formations, the dark rocks to the west (left), where in contact with Precambrian granitic rocks along the structure. The fault is high-angle to reverse and sedimentary beds are often overlain by the granitic rocks, overturned and fractured into isolated blocks. 1978.



This photograph shows a slump feature after a failure of part of the west wall of the pit. Stability problems with both east and west pit walls were a significant and resulted in the loss of some of the best ore from deeper zones. 1978.



Cheers!

Steve

Okay, I'm getting in on the Uraninite. Three interpenetrating crystals, the largest being 1.5cm from Cardiff Uranium Mine.

Steve,
Here is a panorama of the Pitch mine 32 years later in 2010 after some "superfund cleanup" has been done. I can't locate where your pictures fit, but thanks for posting them.
-Dean Allum

Dean,

Neat picture! Even with all of the changes the area is familiar. The two photos were taken from somewhere past the far curve of the lake in the pit, looking generally toward or a bit to the right of your location for your panorama.
Cheers,

Steve

I thought when they mined it they were cleaning it up?

Carnotite on fossils from Akkashat, IRAK (collected in 1975)

Hi Roger and all,

Thanks for posting your hotties.

Here's an old time Mounana piece : [www.mindat.org]

Zenjoy.

Take care and best regards.

Paul.

This is my best uraninite. Its from the shaft 371 in hartenstein germany. Like many german uraninites is this piece really pure. It has a density above 7. It has a crust of weathering products and a atached dirt patina from the mine dump, where it was found. But it is under the patina very pure. Its weight is 35 grams.

Here are some of my best radioactive minerals from Connecticut, mostly samarskite-iron rich, uraninite, and monazite-(Ce). With the owner's permission, and help from several friends, I have been actively specimen mining (April 2008 to present) the old 1933 trench (and newly discovered dumps) at the Spinelli quarry in Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA, which is where the samarskites and some of the monazites are from. The latter mineral has not been seen from there since 1933. The really big monazite crystal (see below) may be a Connecticut record, and I would be interested in how it compares to other world-wide monazites, so please let me know.
Many thanks
Tony.

Uraninite from the Strickland Quarry - [www.mindat.org]
Uraninite from Haddam, rare xl with magnetite - [www.mindat.org]
Andrews Quarry monazite - [www.mindat.org]
Two Spinelli monazites - small one - [www.mindat.org]
& the BIG one - [www.mindat.org]
Spinelli samarskites - [www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org] with columbite
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org] with columbite
[www.mindat.org] with columbite
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]
Also, here is a Swamps Quarry, Maine, uraninite: [www.mindat.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2013 05:15PM by Tony Albini.

Tony

Very very nice work. You and Ray Mayers must have done extensive work. The photography of Mr Moritz is excellent! I need to learn some of his methods. Keep up the good work Tony!

Fred

Thanks, here are a couple more samarskites with columbite:
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]
Hopefully we'll find more...
Tony

spectacular collection, Tony - thanks for sharing the fine specimens and great photos

Maggie