Metaschoepite

(UO2)8O2(OH)12 · 10H2O
IMA status
  • Approved
  • Grandfathered
IMA symbol
Mshp
Discovered
1960
Also known as
  • Metaschoepiet

Where it forms, where it's found

Type locality
Shinkolobwe Mine
  1. Shinkolobwe
  2. Kambove Territory
  3. Haut-Katanga
  4. DR Congo

-11.0486°, 26.5508°

24recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Radioactivity

Crystallography

Crystal system
Orthorhombic
Space group
#63
Cell parameters
a = 13.98 Å · b = 16.7 Å · c = 14.67 Å
Ratio a:b:c
1 : 1.195 : 1.049
Crystal structure

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
92UUraniumUranium8238.0291904.232
73.91%
8OOxygenOxygen4015.999639.960
24.84%
1HHydrogenHydrogen321.00832.256
1.25%
Total2576.448100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • Metaschoepiet

In other languages

German
Metaschoepit
Italian
Metaschoepite

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

4.GA.05

  • 4OxidesClass
  • 4.GUranyl HydroxidesDivision
  • 4.GAWithout additional cationsGroup
  • 4.GA.05MetaschoepiteSpecies
Dana
8th ed.

05.02.01.01

  • 05Oxides Containing Uranium or ThoriumClass
  • 05.02AXO3·xH2OType
  • 05.02.01Schoepite GroupGroup
  • 05.02.01.01MetaschoepiteSpecies
CIM

7.16.4

  • 7Oxides and HydroxidesClass
  • 7.16Oxides of UGroup
  • 7.16.4MetaschoepiteSpecies

Group, growth & confusion

In the same group
2 members

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 1960Christ, C. L., Clark, J. R. (1960) Crystal chemical studies of some uranyl oxide hydrates. American Mineralogist, 45 (9-10) 1026-1061
  2. 1965Christ, C. L. (1965) Phase transformations and crystal chemistry of schoepite. American Mineralogist, 50 (1-2) 235-239
  3. 1997Finch, Robert J., Hawthorne, Frank C., Miller, M. L., Ewing, R. C. (1997) Distinguishing among schoepite, [(UO2)8O2(OH)12](H2O)12, and related minerals by X-ray powder diffraction. Powder Diffraction, 12 (4) 230-238 doi:10.1017/s0885715600009799DOI: 10.1017/s0885715600009799
  4. 1998Finch, R.J., Hawthorne, F.C. and Ewing, R.C. (1998): Structural relations among schoepite, metaschoepite and "dehydrated schoepite". Canadian Mineralogist 36, 831-845.
  5. 1999Sowder, A. G., Clark, S. B., Fjeld, R. A. (1999) The Transformation of Uranyl Oxide Hydrates:  The Effect of Dehydration on Synthetic Metaschoepite and Its Alteration to Becquerelite. Environmental Science & Technology, 33 (20). 3552-3557 doi:10.1021/es9901516DOI: 10.1021/es9901516
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Metaschoepite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/metaschoepite-2684},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}