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Uranium and Thorium Minerals
of the
World |
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A Database of Their Properties and Occurrence
with Images
Important Site Considerations - Please Read
Page Width - These pages were layed out using Microsoft's(tm) Internet Explorer(tm) set to a width 700 to 800 pixels, (2/3 to 3/4 of a 1024 pixel width monitor). When Internet Explorer(tm) is set to a much wider width, the pages do not appear quite correct, and to a much lesser width than that, images and data cells will be cramped and may take multiple lines.
Image Resolutions - The images on this site are in 24 bit color JPEG format, and are generally in three resolutions:
| 100 x 75 pixels |
< 10 kb |
Thumbnail image. |
| 1024 x 768 pixels |
50 - 500 kb |
Downloaded when thumbnail image is clicked on. |
| 2560 x 1920 pixels |
200 kb - 2 Mb |
Downloaded when the notation above the thumbnail image is clicked on. |
Please be aware of the potential size of these images before attempting to access them, especially if you have a slow internet connection. The reason for the specific dimensions of the intermediate size is that several people requested them for use as Windows' wallpaper.
This site is a continuing work in progress. There are a few images of very poor quality (remnants from a low quality microscope/imager) that have not been replace yet. Other images have not yet been reduced to thumbnail images, and the full scale image is downloaded and reduced for the 'thumbnail' seen on the page. These are my highest priority for correction. Please let me know if you find one; I am one, and there are over 300 pages and hundreds of images.
Similarly, if you download and save pages for reference, please come back every few months to get the latest updates. I am continually checking data and making corrections to ensure its accuracy. Also, I add images, observations and historical notes as they become available.
HTML - To keep the pages accessable to the greatest number of web-browsers, only a most basic set of tags for HTML 4.0 were used. There are no scripts, Java scripts (other than the crystal images), frames or similar advanced HTML structures used. This also makes it simple for me to make changes to the pages, as they were created using only the Windows(tm) Wordpad(tm) program, and checked using Microsoft's(tm) Internet Explorer(tm).
Contributors and Sources of Information
The information on this web-site is compiled from many sources. The most important source of information being http://www.webmineral.com. This site has proven to be an invaluable mine of information. Additionally, the http://www.mindat.org has provided much information on many of the properties and alternative names of these minerals. I have not tried to duplicate their database on locations, but instead refer you to it for locations where these minerals have been known to have been found.
Another valuable source of information of the geochemistry of uranium and thorium minerals is the U.S. Geological Survey bulletin 1064, Systematic Mineralogy of Uranium and Thorium. Dana's New Mineralogy has proven to be very valuable in verifying much of the data listed in this site. The best reference that I have found, to date, is Minerals and their Locations, by Jan H. Bernard and Jaroslav Hyrsl. I have found information on minerals there that is unavailable elsewhere. Copies of all three of these texts may be purchased from Mineralogical Research Co., as can many other useful references. They also have provided some very interesting specimens, especially of uraninite petrified wood (see Uraninite specimen #5 - it even has petrified bore holes from insects!).
Some of the information presented on this site are from my own observations of the minerals. To provide both an indication that this is from my observation, and how relevant the information may be, I have also given the number of specimens I have examined for the property in question.
I owe many thanks to Luc Vandenberghe of Belgium, a fellow connoisseur of radioactive minerals, for providing considerable information on new minerals, as well as adding to and correcting the name sources of many minerals. He also pointed the way to additional sources of information on all minerals - the International Mineralogical Association Commission on Museums.
Dr. Rob Lavinsky of The Arkenstone is another excellant source of the high quality specimens of many rare minerals shown. I would recommend his to all, including those who are not interested in obtaining a specimen, as the images on this site show just how beautiful even common, everyday minerals can be.
David Barthelmy of http://www.webmineral.com is the instigator of this web-site, and I owe him a debit of gratitude for his encouragement and time over the past several years. My thanks must also go to Sharon Cisneros of Mineralogical Research Co. and Dr. Rob Lavinsky of The Arkenstone for their encouragement in creating this web-site, and help in finding unusual, high quality specimens.
Image and Information Contributions
If you have a digital image that may be of value, or information on a mineral that is not available on this web-site, please feel free to contact me at uraniumminerals(at)yahoo.com (I appologize for not providing a direct e-mail link, the spam harvesters, to date, are ignoring text based links). In particular, I am interested in new or corrected definitions of geological, and uranium/thorium mineral related terms, and images that will help illustrate them.
I ask that the image be your own (you own the copyright). Its use will include a credit to you, and if you desire, a link to your web-site or e-mail address (I recomend e-mail addresses be in the form of text that can be cut and pasted into an e-mail address line).
Images should be in JPEG format if possible, color, and no smaller than 800x600 pixels, if possible. Any useful images will be welcomed and examined for use. The use of an image will necessitate the creation of a 100x75 pixel thumbnail, and if large, and intermediate sized image, all of which I can do. If in a format other than JPEG, I can convert to JPEG format. No other processing will be done without the owner's permission.
Mineral images MUST include a metric reference for scale. Everyday items, such as coins, may be familiar to you, but may not be to the rest of the world. This coin is quite familiar to me, but would confuse most people if I were to use it as a reference for scale. (It is called a 'Bee,' and comes from ancient Greece. It is one of the first coins used by humanity.)
Copyright and Extended Fair Use
All images on this site are copyrighted. They may be used under the fair use rules for copyrighted materials. Commercial use of any sort, without the permission of the copyright holders, is not permitted. Contact the copyright holders before using their material.
All images having a heavy border are copyrighted: 2003, 2004, and 2005 (c) Paul M. Schumacher. All other images have a link beneath them to their copyright owners.
In addition to the fair use for copyrighted materials, the following is also granted for those images by Paul M. Schumacher:
- Images may be downloaded, saved and printed out for private use only. They may not be sold, traded or bartered. They may be given away only as a gift. This applies to all formats and media. If you plan on making color prints of any images for use as artwork, please let me know. I have specially formatted images with a white border, which includes the mineral name and location of its find, of many of these images that I have created for others. You may find these to be better than those used on this website.
- Images may be used educationally, at no charge, for all grades, from preschool to university doctoral levels, provided no charge is made for them. This includes, but is not limited to:
- class handouts
- student reports or homework
- class projects
- theses
- research reports and papers
- These images are available, for free, for use in text books, technical articles, research papers and similar scholarly works, including at the university level. Please contact me if they are to be sold, as I would like to be provided, if possible, a single copy of the work, in either printed or electronic format, for my own education. I have permitted free use in news articles that were informational and educational in at least some of its content.
- Please contact me for use of these images on another educational web-site. I will usually grant permission for their use provided my copyright and the source location of the specimen be included on the site. The same apply to the pages on this site. However, the information itself I do not believe to be copyrighted, and is free to all. I would suggest that the sources given above be checked to verify that no mistakes have been made in transcribing the data. Feel free to link to these pages.
- For non-educational commercial use of these images, please contact me [ psch(at)optonline(dot)net ].
Specimens
The specimens whose images are shown on this site are Not! available for sale, trade or barter. When they are no longer of use, they will be donated to one of two educational institutions. Sorry.
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