Blatonite is a rare uranyl carbonate mineral that typically forms as delicate, fibrous, or acicular yellow coatings on uranium-bearing host rocks. It is most frequently identified in the oxidation zones of uranium deposits and requires careful handling due to its radioactivity.
Is this blatonite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch blatonite with a known reference. Blatonite sits at Mohs 2-3, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Blatonite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Blatonite typically shows a silky luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, pale yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: hexagonal. Typical habit: fibrous, acicular, radiating aggregates.
Often confused with
Blatonite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Blatonite leaves white, Rutherfordine leaves yellow; luster reads silky on Blatonite and dull to earthy to silky on Rutherfordine.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Blatonite leaves white, Liebigite leaves pale yellow; luster reads silky on Blatonite and vitreous on Liebigite.
Often found alongside blatonite
Minerals reported to co-occur with blatonite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- UO₂CO₃·H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2-3
- Density
- 4.05 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Silky
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Fibrous, Acicular, Radiating Aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Oxidized Uranium Deposits
Where rockhounds find blatonite
Classic worldwide localities
- Found by Patrick Haynes in the Jomac uranium mine, San Juan County, Utah, U.S.A
Field-hunting tip
Look in oxidized uranium deposits country, the host setting where blatonite typically forms. If you start seeing uraninite, boltwoodite, gypsum in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a fibrous, acicular, radiating aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find blatonite on the map
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