Tyuyamunite (pronounced tuh-YOO-ya-moon-ite) is a very rare
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
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
with formula Ca(UO
2)
2V
2O
8·(5-8)H
2O. It is a member of the
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 ...
group. It is a bright, canary-yellow color because of its high uranium content. Also, because of tyuyamunite's high uranium content, it is
radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...
.
[Lynch, Dan R. and Bob Lynch, "Tyuyamunite," Ed. Brett Ortler, ''Michigan Rocks & Minerals,'' Adventure Publications, 2010 ] It was named by Konstantin Avtonomovich Nenadkevich, in 1912, after its
type locality, Tyuya-Muyun,
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
.
[
]
Formation and transformation
Tyuyamunite is formed by the weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...
of uraninite
Uraninite, formerly pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium causes t ...
, a uranium-bearing mineral. Tyuyamunite, being a hydrous
In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was underst ...
mineral, contains water. Yet when it is exposed to the atmosphere it loses its water. This process changes tyuyamunite into a different mineral known as metatyuyamunite[ Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2·3-5H2OMetatyuyamunite]
o
Mindat
/ref>
References
External links
a
Mindat
Uranium(VI) minerals
Vanadate minerals
Orthorhombic minerals
Minerals in space group 52
Luminescent minerals
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