Chemistry: A Volatile History to investigate. Marie Curie began her investigations by testing a uranium ore called pitchblende with an electrometer. She discovered it was four times more radioactive than pure uranium, and wondered if this was due to the presence of an even more radioactive element in the pitchblende. Curie began stockpiling tonnes of pitchblende, then in the most basic of workshops with primitive equipment she undertook a multitude of complex and dangerous procedures in an attempt to isolate this new element. In the event, Curie discovered two new elements, polonium named after her native Poland and radium. Whilst these were naturally occurring
Uranium ore precipitation of uranium minerals in form of coffinite, pitchblende and U-Zr-silicates. This initial mineralisation event took place at about 277 million to 264 million years. During the Triassic a further mineralisation event took place relocating uranium into quartz-carbonate-uranium veins. Another example of this mineralisation style is the Shinkolobwe deposit in Congo, Africa, containing about 30,000 t of uranium. Intrusive deposits make up a large proportion of the world's uranium resources. Included in this type are those associated with intrusive rocks including alaskite, granite, pegmatite and monzonites. Major world deposits include Rossing (Namibia), Ilimaussaq intrusive complex (Greenland) and Palabora (South Africa).