Uranium: Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and the Environment — Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry, Vol. 38

Edited by Peter C. Burns of Notre Dame and Robert J. Finch of Argonne National Laboratory, this is Volume 38 in the Mineralogical Society of America's Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry series — the standard reference series used across graduate mineralogy and geochemistry programs. The volume was compiled for a short course of the same title sponsored by MSA, held October 22–23, 1999 in Golden, Colorado, ahead of MSA's joint annual meeting with the Geological Society of America, and it brings together contributions from the leading uranium mineralogists and geochemists of the era into a single working reference.

This isn't a casual collector's guide — it's a dense, technical volume aimed at serious students of uranium mineralogy, geochemistry, and environmental science, but it rewards the effort for anyone building real depth on radioactive minerals rather than just a specimen shelf. Coverage runs from the history of radioactivity and 20th-century uranium science, through the crystal chemistry of uranium, the systematics and paragenesis of uranium minerals, uranium ore deposit genesis, and the geochemical behavior of uranium and other actinides in natural fluids — the chapters most directly useful if your interest is in identifying and understanding secondary uranium minerals like gummite, curite, and autunite in the field or on a specimen. MSA

The back half of the book turns to environmental applications: the geomicrobiology of uranium, groundwater contamination and remediation, and the mineralogy of geologic nuclear waste disposal, along with a chapter on the natural fission reactors at Oklo, Gabon — the only known site on Earth where a natural uranium deposit self-sustained nuclear fission two billion years ago. Closing chapters cover the analytical and spectroscopic methods used to study uranium phases in the lab, useful reference material if you're ever trying to make sense of an XRD or SEM-EDS report on a specimen.

A dense but essential volume for anyone serious about uranium mineralogy specifically — pairs well with fieldwork and hand-specimen study of localities like Ruggles Mine, and a natural reference citation for anyone working through material like the gummite/uraninite study pieces in this shop.

Paperback

695 pages