Scientists from the University of Alberta discovered a new dark green mineral in diamonds collected from around volcanoes in South Africa. This discovery surprised scientists because it has unique chemical characteristics of mantle minerals and will help humanity further Understand the chemical processes deep in the Earth's mantle.
Inside the diamond, researchers discovered a new dark green mineral that has never been found in nature on Earth. It is called "goldschmidtite". Its size is very small, only 100 microns, which is the thickness of a human hair.
But even at such a small size, scientists have the opportunity to study this new mineral and help us understand our planet's past, studying chemical reactions in the Earth's mantle billions of years ago. Researchers have found that diamonds contain large amounts of rare earth elements such as niobium, potassium, lanthanum, and cerium, as well as magnesium, iron, etc. that are contained in other minerals in the earth's mantle.
Most of this ore is mostly potassium and niobium, which means that in the lower part of the mantle, many rare elements are gathered together and concentrated to form unusual substances. It is speculated that this diamond may have been generated 170 kilometers underground at a high temperature of 1200°C.
The structure of this mineral is unique, and the diamond surrounding it is like a "time capsule" that brought a unique element billions of years ago into the present, allowing scientists to make new discoveries about the history of the Earth. evaluation of. Currently, this strange mineral is collected in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
