earth science

Kasolite

Kasolite is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kasolite rather than just read about it. In short: Kasolite is an uncommon lead uranyl silicate monohydrate mineral. It is an IMA approved mineral, that had been a valid species before the foundation of the association, that had been first described and published in 1921 by Schoep.

Key takeaways

Kasolite belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kasolite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kasolite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kasolite is an uncommon lead uranyl silicate monohydrate mineral. It is an IMA approved mineral, that had been a valid species before the foundation of the association, that had been first described and published in 1921 by Schoep. It is a grandfathered mineral, meaning the name kasolite is still believed to refer to a valid species to this day. The mineral's name originates from its type locality, namely the Shinkolobwe Mine, also known as Kasolo Mine. Kasolite is possibly the lead analogue of the unnamed phase UM1956-02-SiO:CaHU, and it is the only accepted lead-uranium silicate.

Visual properties Kasolite occurs in prismatic, lath-like crystals. It typically forms either clusters of radial acicular crystals, microcrystals, or a coating on top of the altered specimens. Individual crystals can grow up to a few millimeters. Massive specimens tend to have a dull to earthy luster. Kasolite is a weakly pleochroic mineral, which is an optical phenomenon. The mineral's color seems to be changing depending on the axis it is inspected on. On the X and Y axes, it appears in a pale yellow color, while on the Z, it can have a colorless to slightly grayish coloration.

Chemical properties Kasolite mainly consists of uranium (40.53%), lead (35.28%) and oxygen (19.07%), but otherwise contains silicon (4.78%) and a small amount of hydrogen (0.34%). It has a very strong, 2,893,809.61 radioactivity measured in Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units caused by its uranium concentration. Typically it can have arsenic, potassium, barium, iron, magnesium and calcium impurities. The crystal structure has a strong hydrogen bonding, where the water molecules are distributed in pairs, held together by two symmetrically related hydrogen bonds. It is further described to have formed from uranyl silicate layers having the uranophane sheet anion-topology. Water molecules are in the lead interlayer ions' coordination structure and reinforce it with hydrogen bonding between the uranyl silicate sheets. Its crystal structure is described as mechanically stable and very isotropic, which is unexpected as layered structures tend to be very anisotropic. Its large mechanical isotropy can be explained due to the strong dual hydrogen bonding between the uranyl silicate sheets. Because of the hydrogen bonding, the bonding strength along the direction perpendicular to sheets and that along the other directions are similar.

Formation Carbonate and fluoride complexes play a major role in the formation of the mineral. Hydrothermal solutions reacting with uranium-bearing metamictized minerals form uranous fluoride complexes. These complexes are predominant at pH 4 and in reducing atmosphere. As the fluids pass through fractures, approaching the surface, the pH and the oxygen fugacity increases due to the loss of volatile components. Under these conditions, the uranous fluorides go through metamorphosis, becoming uranyl fluoride complexes. The fluorine ion activity decays due to the precipitation of fluorite and the dilution of the hydrothermal solutions, which both contribute to temperature decrease. When these conditions meet, uranyl-carbonate complexes are favored, which, when they combine with lead and silica, form kasolite. As lead is neither radiogenic nor a uranium substitute, the source of lead in the mineral structure might originate from galena's mineralization.

Occurrences and localities Kasolite is an oxidation product of uraninite. This is the reason why it can usually be found in oxidized uranium deposits. In Kasolo, Congo, the mineral occurs in association with torbernite, curite, dewindtite and uraninite, and in Nabarlek, Australia, it can be found in association with rutherfordine, sklodowskite and curite as well. The top distributors of the mineral are Congo, Gabon, Germany, England, France, Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United States, however, there are numerous minor distributors as well.

References

Media related to Kasolite at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kasolite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kasolite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kasolite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kasolite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kasolite

In research: Kasolite appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kasolite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kasolite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mineral County, Nevada, Monoclinic crystals, Monoclinic minerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kasolite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kasolite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kasolite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kasolite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kasolite in simple terms?

Why does Kasolite matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kasolite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kasolite.