Uranium ore for silver in the 16th century. F.E. Brückmann made the first mineralogical description of the mineral in 1727 and the vein deposit Jachymov in the Czech Republic became the type locality for uraninite. In 1789 the German chemist M. H. Klaproth discovered the element of uranium in a sample of pitchblende from the Johanngeorgenstadt vein deposit. The first industrial production of uranium was made from the Jachymov deposit and Marie and Pierre Curie used the tailings of the mine for their discovery of polonium and radium. Vein deposits consist of uranium minerals filling in cavities such as cracks, veins, fractures,
Uraninite where it is found in large quantities associated with silver. It also occurs in Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, England, Rwanda, Namibia and South Africa. In the United States, it can be found in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wyoming. The geologist Charles Steen made a fortune on the production of uraninite in his Mi Vida mine in Moab, Utah. Uranium ore is generally processed close to the mine into yellowcake, which is an intermediate step in the processing of uranium. Uraninite Uraninite, formerly pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and