Saleeite is a secondary

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the 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. Uranium is weak ...

mineral occurring in the oxidized zones of uranium deposits, or as disseminations in

carnotite Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present. Occurrence Carnotite i ...

-bearing

sandstones Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) b ...

. Its chemical formula is Mg(UO₂)₂(PO₄)₂·10(H₂O). It was discovered in 1932 at

Shinkolobwe Shinkolobwe, or Kasolo, or Chinkolobew, or Shainkolobwe, was a radium and uranium mine in the Haut-Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located 20 km west of Likasi (formerly Jadotville), 20 km south of Kamb ...

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and is named for Belgian mineralogist

Achille Salée Achille is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * Ach ...

(1883-1932), Professor at

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It was later determined that the Katanga mineral was meta-saleeite Mg(UO₂)₂(PO₄)₂·8(H₂O) and the type locality was assigned to the Weißer Hirsch Mine, Neustädtel, Schneeberg District, Erzgebirge,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

.Mrose, Mary E. (1950) American Mineralogist: 35: 52

Mindat.org

References

Uranium(VI) minerals Phosphate minerals {{Phosphate-mineral-stub