Andrew's Mineral Page

Uraninite -- a world changing, radioactive material. Very delicate, it can kill by the millions or create brilliant works of art.

My name is Andrew Wang, and I have been asked by my teacher to analyze and inform the public about this deadly, yet constructive mineral.

Uraninite is a black ore with brown tints. It has a very dull luster (Luster is how shiny a stone is), and has cleavage (This means it has a very smooth natural cut). It's streak is steelblack (Streak is the powder of the stone), and it is 5-6 on the Moh's hardness scale (Moh's hardness scale describes how hard a mineral is). Its chemical composition is Uo2. The best way to identify this mineral are from its luster color and streak.

Uraninite is used to process photos, to create colored glasses and china. It is the key component in making nuclear bombs, and it is also the main power source for nuclear power plants.

Uraninite can be found in many places, but the 5 top suppliers are Canada, Australia, Niger, Uzbekistan and Russia. They are obtained by Situ-solution mining, open pit mining or underground mining. The following are the annual amount from the 5 top suppliers in grams.