“Pitchblende” – Word of the Week #7

“Pitchblende” was “Word of the Week”, for the seventh week of 2022. “Word of the Week” is a weekly publication on this website. The word of the week also gets explained more in-depth, during the weekly show “What’s Cheap”. 

Pitchblend is an important uranium ore mineral, which is black in color, possesses a characteristic greasy lustre and is highly radioactive. The name pitchblende comes from the colour of the crystal, which is very dark, and it’s also very dense. 

Pitchblende is often referred to as “Uraninite”.

Pitchblende is a very rich uranium-type ore. It’s consists mostly of U02, and U03, not U308. Pitchblende also contains lead, rare earth elements, and thorium.

Pitchblende was found in Germany in the 15th century, in silver mines.

Pitchblend was used to discover uranium & helium.

The highest grades of pitchblende were found in Congo, Africa, and in the Athabasca Basin in Canada. Often times, when it’s found in those places, pitchblende is found together with silver.

Source: mostly wikipedia.