How do I identify Carnotite?

Carnotite can be identified by its hardness of 2 on the Mohs scale, Bright yellow color. Look for these key characteristics when examining specimens.

What color is Carnotite?

Carnotite typically appears in Bright yellow, yellow, greenish yellow. Color can vary depending on impurities and formation conditions.

How hard is Carnotite?

Carnotite has a hardness of 2 on the Mohs scale. This makes it a soft mineral that can be scratched easily.

Carnotite

A variety of Minerals

What is Carnotite?

Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2(UO2)2(VO4)2·3H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present.

Uses & Applications

Carnotite is an ore of uranium. At times in the early 20th century, it was mined primarily for radium or vanadium. The mineral was used to produce quack devices involving radioactive substances.

Carnotite Market Value Calculator

Estimate the market value of Carnotite using size, quality, and finish. This preview calculator is for quick context and is not a formal appraisal.

Carnotite Localities Map

See where Carnotite is found with a localities map, collecting zones, and geology context. Generate a sample map preview below.

Map preview

North ZoneCentral RidgeSouth Basin

Key Characteristics

Formation of Carnotite

Carnotite is a bright to greenish-yellow mineral that occurs typically as crusts and flakes in sandstones. Amounts as low as one percent will color the sandstone a bright yellow. The high uranium content makes carnotite an important uranium ore. It is a secondary vanadium and uranium mineral usually found in sedimentary rocks in arid climates. In the United States it is an important ore of uranium in the Colorado Plateau region of the United States where it occurs as disseminations in sandstone and concentrations around petrified logs. It also occurs in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. It also occurs incidentally in Grants, New Mexico, and Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Carnotite is reported in Congo (Kinshasa), Morocco, Australia (Radium Hill) and Kazakhstan. In Pakistan carnotite occurs in the Upper Miocene middle Siwaliks sandstone (Dhokpathan Formation), in the vicinity of Takhat Nasrati, Karak District.