Step back to the 1950s and relive the days of the uranium rush!
Contents
Detection of Uranium
The easiest way to detect uranium is with a geiger counter. These range in price from $50 for a CD V-700 to thousands of dollars for a professional one. Or you can build a scintillation counter. Some of the green and yellow minerals can also be detected due to their florescence under UV light.
Common Uranium Ores
- Uraninite (UO2)
- Pitchblende (UO2)
- Uranophane (Ca(UO2)2[HSiO4]2·5H2O)
- Autunite (Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2·11H2O)
- Torbernite (Cu(UO2)2(PO4)2·12H2O)
- Coffinite ((U,Th)[(OH)4x|(SiO4)1-x]
Where to Look
Michigan (taken from www.mindat.org)
Baraga Co.
- Alberta
- Detroit Graphite Company Graphite Quarry
- Huron River
- Big Eric's Crossing
- Huron River uranium prospect
Dickinson Co.
- Menominee iron range
- Felch trough
- Gene Lake gneiss
- Randville
- Groveland Mine
- Felch trough
Genesee Co.
- Anderson-Wiggins prospect
Iron Co.
- Menominee iron range
- Gaastra
- Buck Group
- Buck Mine
- Buck Group
- Mineral Hills
- Sherwood Mine
- Gaastra
Marquette Co.
- Greens Creek slate trench
- Marquette iron range
- Francis Mine (Northwestern Mine)
- M & G Mine
- Republic
- Migmatite zone
Ontonagon Co.
- Bergland prospect (Burke prospect)
The Most Promising Spot in MI
Article about the Huron River Uranium Prospect
It is about a 1.5-2 hr drive from Houghton and can only be accessed by the Skanne road that starts in L'Anse. It is approximately half way between Houghton and Marquette (as the crow flies). It is located at a waterfall on the east branch of the Huron river about 100 m south of the bridge at Big Erik's Crossing.
This site contains uranium ore as both tiny black flecks in calcite veins and as a yellow/green crust on some rock surfaces. This crust can be identified as containing uranium by checking to see if it is florescent under UV light. Both ores can be detected using a geiger counter.
Trips
- A trip to this area was made on May 4, 2009. The exact site of the prospect was not found (the coordinates given by Mindat are off by about a mile), but several rocks were recovered that produced higher than background levels of radiation (about 100 counts per minute). No florescent specimens were found.