Vanuralite, Mounanaite
Al(UO2)2(VO4)2(OH)·11H2O, PbFe3+2(VO4)2(OH)2
Locality:
Mounana Mine (Mouana Mine), Franceville, Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon
Field of View: 1.3 mm
Vanuralite on mounanaite. Specimen collected in the old dump.
Collection and photograph Jean Pierre Barral
An allusion to its components, Vanuralite is named for vanadium (van), uranium (ur), and aluminum (al). Vanuralite is found in only one country in the world at the Mounana mine, its type locality, and the Oklo mine in Gabon. It occurs at both of these mines in the oxidized zones of a uranium-vanadium deposit that is also lead-bearing. Vanuralite is radioactive.
The mounanaite is a mineral composed of vanadate lead and iron. It is found in the oxidation zones of the deposit of vanadium and uranium plumbiferous.
