Pitchblende

Pitchblende is a dense, black, uranium-rich mineral variety chiefly composed of uraninite. Its composition can include trace elements produced by radioactive decay.

Uraninite: Uraninite is a uranium oxide mineral, principally uranium dioxide, and the chief constituent of pitchblende. Pitchblende is commonly treated as a massive, impure variety of this mineral.
Georges de Launay: Georges de Launay was a French geologist known for work on mineral deposits and mining. His geological writing helped establish the historical description and use of the name pitchblende.
Uranium dioxide: Uranium dioxide is an inorganic compound with formula UO₂ and a major component of uraninite. It is the principal uranium oxide in many pitchblende samples.
Uranium mining: Uranium mining is the extraction of uranium-bearing ores from the Earth's crust. Pitchblende has been mined as a high-grade source of uranium.
Jáchymov: Jáchymov is a town in the Czech Republic historically known for silver and uranium mining. Its uranium ores supplied material for early studies of radioactivity and radium.
Uranium: Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive chemical element with atomic number 92. Its high uranium content gives pitchblende its defining mineral and economic character.
Martin Heinrich Klaproth: Martin Heinrich Klaproth was a German chemist who identified uranium in 1789. Uranium's identification made the metal content of pitchblende scientifically legible.
Uranium-238: Uranium-238 is the most abundant naturally occurring uranium isotope, with a half-life of about 4.5 billion years. Its long decay chain supplies many radioactive daughter products found in uranium ores.
Cameco: Cameco is a Canadian company that produces uranium for nuclear energy and other uses. Its operations include the Athabasca Basin, a region known for exceptionally rich uranium deposits.
Shinkolobwe mine: Shinkolobwe was a high-grade uranium mine in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its uranium-rich ore became a strategically significant source during the twentieth century.

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PoloniumRelated: The Curies found evidence of polonium while examining pitchblende residues.