Billietite is an uncommon mineral of
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 ...
that contains
barium. It has the chemical formula: Ba(UO
2)
6O
4(OH)
6•8H
2O. It usually occurs as clear yellow
orthorhombic crystals.
[M. Katherine Pagoaga, Daniel E, Appleman, & James M. Stewart "Crystal structures and crystal chemistry of the uranyl oxide hydrates becquerelite, billietite, and protasite" ''American Mineralogist,'' Volume 72, pages 1230-1238, 198]
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Billietite is named after Valere Louis Billiet (1903–1945), Belgian crystallographer at the University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
Billietite was discovered in the locality of the Shinkolobwe uranium mine in the Haut-Katanga Province
Haut-Katanga (French for "Upper Katanga") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Tanganyika provinces are the result of the dismember ...
of the 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 ...
(DRC).[
]
References
External links
webmineral.com
Uranium(VI) minerals
Orthorhombic minerals
Minerals in space group 33
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