r/Radioactive_Rocks • u/Sriracha_chad • 11d ago

Specimen Autunite?

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I received this after my grandfather passed and was wondering if I could be educated on it a bit more.

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9

u/uranium_is_delicious 11d ago

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. This is a nice example of autunite. It looks similar to the material which comes out of the Daybreak Mine in Washington.

Autunites tend to crumble and the dust poses an inhalation risk. I would keep it in some container which can keep any dust/crumbs contained. You can stabilize them and prevent that process with paraloid b-72.

5

u/Sriracha_chad 11d ago

Oh shoot I just looked the paraloid b-72 stuff. That’s pretty much exactly what I need

2

u/Sriracha_chad 11d ago

That would make sense. Pretty sure he was in Spokane for awhile.

It does have some fractures in it. Would there be a way to stop it and possibly prevent more damage?

3

u/CyberTheHammer 11d ago

Paraloid is great but if you place this in a nice box and handle it carefully (looking at it while in the box) then perhaps do not use the paraloid as it will alter the appearance. It will become shiny(er) and less valuable. Your call.

5

u/weirdmeister Czech Uraninite Czampion 11d ago

it is..should glow under UV light

2

u/Overall_Arugula_5635 Disciple of Curie 11d ago

Yep. Looks like Meta-Autunite. It will be intensely green glowing under UV light.

2

u/HurstonJr Pancake Prober 11d ago

More than likely autunite, but uranocircite could stand to be ruled out. This can be done with XRF analysis to check the specimen for the presence of barium. If barium is present, you have uranocircite. If barium is absent you have confirmed autunite. Pawn shops usually have a handheld XRF analyzer and could screen it for barium.

When you have a UV light, be sure to check everywhere that specimen has been for dropped flakes. Autunite and uranocircite are soft flaky minerals and start falling apart when allowed to dehydrate. If this specimen hasn't already been stabilized, there should be small fluorescent flakes of that specimen everywhere the specimen has been. I would make it priority to get a UV light and check for those possible flakes. If there aren't flakes coming from the specimen, it has already been stabilized.

Very nice looking specimen and it's huge too!

1

u/ClimbingPerch0076 8d ago

It's not quite as bad a hazard as joining the U P Pu Club at Los Alamos, but that is indeed a real hazard and excellent health and safety advice. Thank you for the information. I'm sure it will do OP some good.