Hey dear Hive community, first of all I would like to welcome you all to my new post and hope you are all well! In my new post, I would like to bring you a new mineral a little closer and hope you can learn something new.
Here you can see the mineral Heinrichite, which belongs to the mineral class of vanadates, phosphates and arsenates. Heinrichite was first discovered in the 20th century in the USA in Oregon and it is a rare mineral and it usually forms as a secondary mineral in the oxidation zone of uranium-containing deposits and as an ore it is particularly interesting for the extraction of uranium. Due to the content of uranium and arsenic, it is important to handle the mineral carefully and, in the best case, store it behind closed glass and avoid contact with the skin, as this can lead to irritation. The occurrence is really extremely rare and worldwide it could only be found at over 20 locations and the best-known places of discovery include Spain, Germany and Greece in addition to the USA. The color is mostly yellow or white and the mineral was named in honor of the mineralogist Eberhardt William Heinrich (1918–1991) and interesting is probably also the property that Heinrichite converts into metaheinrichite by long storage on the air.
Many thanks for stopping by and I hope you like my new contribution! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens!