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One grain of rock lodged in a diamond contains a mineral never found before.
And this new substance could reveal unusual chemical reactions taking place in the depths of the mantle, the Earth's layer lying between the earth's crust and the outer core of the planet.
Scientists unearthed the mineral from a South African volcanic site known as Koffiefontein's pipe. Shining diamonds stain the black, igneous rock that lines the pipe, and the diamonds themselves contain tiny pieces of other minerals from hundreds of kilometers below the surface of the Earth. In one of these glittering stones, scientists discovered a dark green opaque mineral that they estimated was forged 170 km underground.
They named the new mineral "goldschmidtite" in honor of the renowned geochemist Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, according to the study published on September 1 in the newspaper American Mineralogist.
A new ore, called goldschmidtite, was mined from a South African diamond.
(Image credit: Nicole Meyer / University of Alberta)
The entire mantle is about 2,900 km (2,802 km) thick, according to National Geographic, which makes it difficult to study the lowest regions of the diaper. The intense pressure and the heat in the upper part coat transform low-carbon deposits into sparkling diamonds; the rocks trap other mantle minerals in their structures and can be pushed to the surface of the planet by underground volcanic eruptions. By analyzing mineral inclusions in diamonds, scientists can take a look at the chemical processes that occur far below the surface. crust.
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The authors of the study noted that for a mantle mineral, goldschmidtite had a particular chemical composition.
"Goldschmidtite contains high concentrations of niobium, potassium and rare earth elements lanthanum and cerium, while the rest of the coat is dominated by other elements, such as magnesium and iron, "co-authored Nicole Meyer, PhD student at the University of Alberta in Canada, said in a statement. Potassium and niobium make up the bulk of the mineral, which means that the relatively rare elements have been collected and concentrated to form the unusual substance, although other neighboring elements are more abundant, she said.
"Goldschmidtite is very unusual for inclusion captured by a diamond and gives us insight into the fluid processes that affect the deep roots of continents during diamond formation," said Mantle Geochemist Graham Pearson, Co-Director of Meyer, in the press release. The mineral is now at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Meyer told Live Science in an email.
Originally published on Science live.
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