URANINITE
Specimen ura-1
$ 42.00Dims: 4.5" x 1.7" x 1.4" (11.4 x 4.3 x 3.6 cm)
Wt: 11.3 oz. (321.0 g)
Huskin #7 Mine, Coconino County, Arizona, U.S.A.
This odd hand specimen consists of part of a fossilized tree branch or thin trunk that has been replaced with, among other things, black massive Uraninite. This material has a flat black color and a matte luster, and shows no evidence of crystal form. Though it does show some of the wood's original form, I think that much of this form has been destroyed in the fossilization process. Accompanying the Uraninite is a substantial amount of material whose color ranges from white to yellow to a pale orange-brown. According to documentation, the yellow and orange-brown materials are made up of Coconinoite, named after the county in which this piece was found. There is not really any host rock present, and the Uraninite itself appears to make up a matrix for the other minerals.