Derriksite

Derriksite is a very rare uranium mineral with the chemical formula Cu4(UO2)(SeO3)2(OH)6•H2O. It is a secondary mineral that contains copper, uranium and the rarer selenium. It is a bright green to duller bottle green colour. Its crystal habit is acicular, it is most likely to be found along with the uranyl selenium mineral demesmaekerite, but derriksite is much rarer than demesmaekerite. It is named after Jean Marie Francois Joseph Derriks (1912–1992), geologist and administrator of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga (UMHK). It has a Mohs hardness of about 2.[1]

Derriksite
Crystals of copper-uranium-selenite derriksite (bottle green) on a bed of malachite, the matrix is selenium-rich digenite
General
CategoryOxide minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)		Cu4(UO2)(SeO3)2(OH)6•H2O
Strunz classification4.JG.30
Crystal systemOrthorhombic
Crystal classPyramidal (mm2)
H-M symbol: (mm2)
Space groupPn21m
Identification
ColourBottle green, green
Cleavage{???} perfect, {010} good
DiaphaneityTranslucent
Specific gravity4.72
Other characteristics Radioactive

References
  1. "Derriksite". mindat.org. Retrieved January 11, 2013.

Further reading
  • Verbeek, Th.; Pierrot, R. (1971). "La Derriksite Cu4(UO2)(SeO3)2•(H2O) une nouvelle espece minérale" (PDF). Bull. Soc. Fr. Mineral. Cristallogr. 94: 534–537.
  • Ginderow, D.; Cesbron, F. (1983). "Structure de la derriksite, Cu4(UO2)(SeO3)2•(H2O)". Acta Crystallographica Section C. 39 (12): 1605. doi:10.1107/S0108270183009439.
  • Frost, Ray; Jagannadha Reddy, B.; Dickfos, Marilla (2008). "An application of near infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopy to the study of uranyl selenite minerals: Derriksite, demesmaekerite, guilleminite and haynesite". Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy. 16: 455. Bibcode:2008JNIS...16..455F. doi:10.1255/jnirs.813.
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