This flat with Coffinite, Corvusite and Carnotite from the Pandora Mine in Utah, USA represents a typical assemblage of uranium and vanadium minerals from the sandstone deposits of the Colorado Plateau. The specimens mainly consist of dark, massive mineral aggregates with dull to slightly metallic surfaces. Characteristic are the dark gray to black zones of the uranium and vanadium minerals, partly accompanied by yellow to yellow green areas.
The yellowish zones correspond to Carnotite, a secondary uranium vanadium mineral that commonly occurs as coatings or fine grained mineralization on the rock surfaces. Together with the darker Coffinite and Corvusite rich areas, these minerals create the strong color contrasts typical of material from this deposit. The assemblage illustrates different expressions of mineralization from a single well known locality.
Geology & Origin
The Pandora Mine is located in the Paradox Basin of Utah and belongs to the classic uranium vanadium deposits of the Colorado Plateau. Mineralization formed in porous sandstones where circulating fluids deposited uranium and vanadium. Minerals such as Coffinite and Corvusite occur as primary ore minerals, while Carnotite commonly forms as a secondary mineral produced by oxidation and weathering processes. Deposits of this type were extensively mined during the uranium boom of the twentieth century.