File:Metatyuyamunite.jpg

Summary
Metatyuyamunite is a uranium ore with a chemical composition of Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2 * H2O [1].

There is very little information on-line regarding this mineral ore with only one document from the USGS indicating that a sample was found at the Big Eagle Mine in Colorado [2]. The pictured sample here was recovered from the Outlaw Uranium Mine in Colorado by Stratabound Assayers [3] and shows a Metayuyamunite ore sample confirmed by x-ray diffraction as being silicon oxide with quartz plus Metayuyamunite. The sample has a sugary texture with a gentle rolling in the surface. The reddish brown is a sandstone and the bright yellow portions are the Metayuyamunite.  Metayuyamunite has an Orthorhombric structure and a hardness of 2 on the Mohs hardness scale [4]  [1] DMSMT x-ray diffraction database  [2] USGS http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0497/PartA/WY_MRDS.xls  [3] Stratabound Assayers http://www.strataboundassayers.com/outlaw/  [4] Minedat http://www.mindat.org/min-2690.html