What is "thorite"

Thorite \Tho"rite\, n. [So called by Berzelius from the Scandinavian god Thor. See Thor.] (Min.) A mineral of a brown to black color, or, as in the variety orangite, orange-yellow. It is essentially a silicate of thorium.

n. (context mineralogy English) A radioactive mineral, composed mostly of thorium silicate (thoriumsiliconoxygen₄), along with silicates of uranium and the rare earths.

n. a radioactive mineral consisting of thorium silicate; it is a source of thorium that is found in coarse granite

Thorite, (Th,U)SiO, is a rare nesosilicate of thorium that crystallizes in the tetragonal system and is isomorphous with zircon and hafnon. It is the most common mineral of thorium and is nearly always strongly radioactive. It was named in 1829 to reflect its thorium content. Thorite was discovered in 1828 on the island of Løvøya, Norway, by the vicar and mineralogist, Hans Morten Thrane Esmark, who sent the first specimens of this black mineral to his father, Jens Esmark, who was a professor of mineralogy and geology.