Editing Coffinite (section)

==Special characteristics==
A large percentage of the Earth's uranium supply is contained in coffinite deposits,<ref>Deditius, Arthur P., Utsunomiya, Satoshi, Ewing, Rodney C. (2008) The Chemical Stability of Coffinite, USiO4 Center Dot NH(2)O; 0 < N < 2, Associated With Organic Matter: A Case Study from Grants Uranium Region, New Mexico, USA. ''Chemical Geology'', 251, 33-49.</ref> which is significant because of uranium's use in nuclear energy.  Sedimentary deposits contain the most radioactive samples,<ref name=Stieff56/> as evidenced by the intensely radioactive coffinite found in the Colorado Plateau.<ref name=Stieff55 />   Researchers at [[Harvard University]], the [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS), and several other institutions attempted unsuccessfully to synthesize coffinite in the mid-1950s after its initial discovery.<ref name=Stieff55 />  In 1956, Hoekstra and Fuchs managed to create stable samples of synthetic coffinite.  All of this research was conducted for the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]].<ref name=Hoekstra56/>