curite

English

A sample of curite

Etymology

From Curie (“a surname”) +‎ -ite, after Pierre Curie and/or his wife Marie, early researchers of radioactivity — the ore being radioactive due to its uranium.

Noun

curite (usually uncountable, plural curites)

1. (mineralogy) An orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing hydrogen, lead, oxygen, and uranium.
   • 1956, Walter Fred Hunt, editor, American Mineralogist‎^[1], volume 41, page 555:

     The color is lighter than that of curite.

   • 1962, Thomas Arthur Rickard, editor, The Mining Magazine, volumes 106-107, page 9:

     The present note relates to the behaviour of uranium minerals such as uraninite, curite, and uranophane in high-tension separators.

   • 1982, R. W. Boyle, Geochemical Prospecting for Thorium and Uranium Deposits, Elsevier, Developments in Economic Geology: 16, page 68,

     Yellow, orange, greenish, and bluish oxidation products of uranium and copper comprising gummite and containing minerals such as curite, liebigite, malachite and azurite may be developed locally in the oxidized rubble and gossans.

References

• David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Curite”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.

Anagrams

• -uretic, Ceruti, curiet, eutric, uretic