Curite is a rare mineral with the chemical composition Pb3[(UO2)4|O4|(OH)3]2·2H2O.[1] It is therefore a hydrated leaduranyloxide, which forms red needles or orange, massive aggregates.
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The mineral is classified according to Strunz as part of the uranyl hydroxides, forming its own group with additional cations (K, Ca, Ba, Pb etc.) and primarily UO2(O,OH)5 pentagonal polyhedra with system number 4.GB.55.
Dana classifies the mineral to the oxides and hydroxide, as part of the uranium- and thorium-containing oxides with oxidation state 6+ containing Pb, Bi, hydroxyl groups or water.
Curite crystallises orthorhombically in space group Pnam with the lattice parameters a=12,56Å; b=13,02Å und c=8,40Å[4] and two formula units per unit cell.[3]
The crystal structure consists of layers of corner- and edge-sharing uranyl polyhedra, in which the uranyl cation shows both pentagonal-bipyramidal and square-bipyramidal coordination. The lead cations connect these layers by coordinating to the oxygen atoms of uranyl group.[8]
Radioactivity
The mineral is radioactive because of its uranium content of about 63%. Considering the composition with respect to the ideal sum formula, a specific activity of about 113,4kBq/g[3] can be given. The absolute value of any given mineralogical sample may vary drastically depending on the general composition of the mineral with its matrix, the amount of material and its age.
Occurrence
Orange microcrystalline curite from Katanga Province, DRC.
Stefan Weiß (2008), Das große Lapis Mineralienverzeichnis. Alle Mineralien von A – Z und ihre Eigenschaften (5. vollkommen neu bearbeitete und ergänzteed.), München: Weise, ISBN978-3-921656-70-9
Curite, In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Hrsg.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America, 2001 (PDF 69 kB)
A. Schoep: La curite, nouveau minéral radioactif In: Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences 1921, 173, 1186–1187. (PDF (French) 91.6 kB)
Y. Li, P. C. Burns: Investigations of crystal-chemical variability in lead uranyl oxide hydrates. I. CURITE, In: The Canadian Mineralogist 2000, Band 38, S. 727–735. (PDF 363.2 kB)
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