Uranophane

specimen number:
2062431

location:
Poison Canyon, McKinley Co., New Mexico, USA

description:
An excellent example for the species, especially nice for this old and important locality. Straw yellow acicular crystals to 1.6 cm in length are set nicely up on matrix. In great condition, collected in 1980.

Poison Canyon in McKinley County, New Mexico, part of the prolific Grants uranium district, saw major prospecting and mining activity begin with the discovery of uranium in sandstone in 1951, with active production scaling up through the Cold War era before commercial operations tapered off and the district generally wound down by the late twentieth century. Geologically, the area is characterized by Morrison Formation sandstone units dating to the Jurassic period, where uranium mineralization formed via groundwaters depositing ore minerals along structural features and permeable channels. Within these sandstone-hosted deposits, uranophane commonly occurs as a secondary hydrated calcium uranium silicate mineral, typically forming yellow, acicular, or radiating crystal aggregates produced through the oxidation and alteration of primary uranium-bearing minerals.

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