Vintage Uraninite Thin Section - Kővágószőlős, Mecsek Mountains, Baranya County, Hungary

This vintage thin section shows uraninite from Kővágószőlős in the Mecsek Mountains of Baranya County, Hungary, the site of the country’s principal uranium mining operations. A thin section is a slice of rock ground down to a thickness of roughly 30 microns, thin enough for light to pass through, which allows the uraninite and its host rock to be studied in detail under a petrographic microscope. This is a real piece of working geological history rather than a hand specimen.

The Mecsek uranium deposits are sandstone-hosted, a very different geological setting from the pegmatite and vein occurrences that dominate most uraninite collecting. Mining at Kővágószőlős was a major part of Hungary’s uranium industry through the second half of the twentieth century, and the operations have since closed. Vintage sections from the district carry both scientific and historical interest, and material with clear locality data is not often offered.

A distinctive piece for collectors of uranium mineralogy, thin sections and petrographic material, or Eastern European localities.