Sharpite Mineral Data

Sharpite Mineral Data +

[Mineral Specimens] [Mineral Locations] [About Us] [Search] [Register]
Greenside Minerals
Newest website on the Internet for top quality, affordable minerals from around the World
We specialize in minerals from the UK and Ireland

General Sharpite Information

Chemical Formula:

Ca(UO2)6(CO3)5(OH)4·6(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 2,136.41 gm

Calcium 1.88 % Ca 2.62 % CaO

Uranium 66.85 % U 75.84 % UO₂

Hydrogen 0.75 % H 6.75 % H₂O

Carbon 2.81 % C 10.30 % CO₂

Oxygen 27.71 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 95.51 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Ca(UO₂)₆(CO₃)₅(OH)₄·6(H₂O)

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1938

Locality:

Shinkolobwe, Shaba, Zaire. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for R. R. Sharp (1881-1956), English engineer, prospector, and soldier, who discovered the Shikolobwe uranium deposit in 1915.

Search for Sharpite Images

Images:

Image not yet available on Webmineral.com

Try searching images.google.com or Mindat Picture Gallary for mineral pictures. Caution: The images retrieved may not be appropriate.

Sharpite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =1.4069:1:0.287

Cell Dimensions:

a = 21.99, b = 15.63, c = 4.487, Z = 2; V = 1,542.20 Den(Calc)= 4.60

Crystal System:

OrthorhombicSpace Group: Unk

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 4.497(1), 3.91(0.48), 7.82(0.4),

Physical Properties of Sharpite

Color:

Greenish yellow, Olive green, Grayish white.

Density:

4.45

Habit:

Acicular - Occurs as needle-like crystals.

Habit:

Encrustations - Forms crust-like aggregates on matrix.

Habit:

Radial - Crystals radiate from a center without producing stellar forms (e.g. stibnite)

Hardness:

2.5 - Finger Nail

Optical Properties of Sharpite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.206 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.167 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1471,KPDmeas= 0.152,KC= 0.126

Optical Data:

Biaxial (+), a=1.633, g=1.72, bire=0.0870

Pleochroism (x):

none.

Pleochroism (y):

none.

Pleochroism (z):

none.

Calculated Properties of Sharpite

Electron Density:

r_electron=3.94 gm/cc
note: r_Sharpite=4.60 gm/cc.

Fermion Index

Fermion Index = 0.00528
Boson Index = 0.99472

Photoelectric:

PE_Sharpite=1,772.84 barns/electron
U=PE_Sharpite x r_electron=6,977.82 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 4,875,520.94 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Sharpite is Radioactive as defined in 49 CFR 173.403. Greater than 70 Bq / gram.

Estimated Maximum U.S. Postal Shipping Size (10 mRem/hr limit, Unshielded 10 cm box) 6.24 ± 1.56 grams of pure Sharpite .
Estimated Maximum U.S. Postal Shipping Size (10 mRem/hr limit, Unshielded 100 cm box) 623.86 ±155.97 grams of pure Sharpite .

**Estimated Radioactivity from Sharpite** - very strong
Specimen Size Weight/Volume (Sphere) *	Calculated Activity Bequerols (Bq)	Calculated Activity Curies (Ci)	Estimated Activity GR(api)	Estimated Exposure (mRem**)/hr If Held in Hand For One Hour
1000 gm / 7.46 cm	119,660,032	3.23E-03	4,875,520.94	1,602.91
100 gm / 3.46 cm	11,966,003	3.23E-04	487,552.09	160.29
10 gm / 1.61 cm	1,196,600	3.23E-05	48,755.21	16.03
1 gm / 7.46 mm	119,660	3.23E-06	4,875.52	1.60
0.1 gm / 3.46 mm	11,966	3.23E-07	487.55	0.16
0.01 gm / 1.61 mm	1,197	3.23E-08	48.76	0.02
0.001 gm / 0.75 mm	120	3.23E-09	4.88	0.00

Weight of pure Sharpite in grams (gm) and Calculated Diameter of a Sphere with a Density of 4.60 gm/cc.*
Goverment Estimate of Average Annual Exposure ( 360 mRem) **
Note: 10 microsieverts/hr = 1 mRem/hr **
Max Permissable Adult Dose 50,000 mRem/yr (hands), 15,000 mRem/yr (eyes)
Lethal Dose LD(50) Exposure 400,000 to 500,000 mRem

Sharpite Classification

Dana Class:

16b.7.10.1 (16b)Carbonates - Hydroxyl or Halogen

(16b.7)Dana Type

(16b.7.10)Dana Group

16b.7.10.1 Sharpite Ca(UO2)6(CO3)5(OH)4·6(H2O) Unk Ortho

Strunz Class:

V/F.04-20 V - Nitrates, Carbonates and Borates

V/F - Uranylcarbonates ([UO2]4+ - [CO3]2-)

V/F.04 - Urancalcarite - Albrechtschraufite series

V/F.04-10 Urancalcarite Ca(UO2)3(CO3)(OH)6·3(H2O) Pbnm,Pbn21 Ortho

V/F.04-20 Sharpite Ca(UO2)6(CO3)5(OH)4·6(H2O) Unk Ortho

V/F.04-30 Rabbittite Ca3Mg3(UO2)2(CO3)6(OH)4·18(H2O) Unk Mono

V/F.04-40 Albrechtschraufite Ca4Mg(UO2)2(CO3)6F2·17(H2O) P1 1

Other Sharpite Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Dana8) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Sharpite :
1 -Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database 2 -Athena 3 - EUROmin Project 4 -Google Images 5 -Google Scholar 6 -Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA) 7 -MinDAT 8 -MinMax(Deutsch) 9 -MinMax(English) 10 -Mineralienatlas (Deutsch) 11 -QUT Mineral Atlas 12 - Uranium Minerals 13 -École des Mines de Paris

Search for Sharpite using:

[ALTAVISTA] [AOL] [About.com] [All-The-Web] [HotBot] [Ixquick] [LookSmart] [MAMMA] [MSN.COM] [Netscape] [Teoma] [Wikipedia] [YAHOO]

Visit our Advertisers for Sharpite :
AA Mineral Specimens
B and L Minerals
Dan Weinrich Fine Minerals
Dan Weinrich Auctions
e-Rocks Auctions
Excalibur Minerals
Exceptional Minerals
Fabre Minerals
Greenside Minerals
John Betts Fine Minerals
Masons Minerals
Minernet.it
Mineral News
Mineral of the Month Club
MineralsWeb Fine Minerals
Rockshop.cz Kalat Fine Minerals
T G Fine Minerals
Wrights Rock Shop

Translate Sharpite Mineral Data :

Ask about Sharpite here :
Ask-A-Mineralogist from the Mineralogical Society of America
Mindat.org's Discussion Groups
Original Rockhounds Discussion Group
Rockhounds Discussion Group on Yahoo Groups
Mineral Discussion Forum from Fabre Minerals - also available in Español

Print or Cut-and-Paste your Sharpite Specimen Label here :

Sharpite

Ca(UO2)6(CO3)5(OH)4·6(H2O)
Dana No: 16b.7.10.1 Strunz No: V/F.04-20
Locality:

Notes: