In 1987, miners were disappointed after extracting a seemingly worthless greenish stone from a mine in Botswana, located in Central Africa. After more than 30 years in storage, researchers have discovered that the stone is unique.
Sold to a US mineralogist, the dark-spotted greenish diamond remained in a shed until studied by scientists specializing in the Earth’s mantle. University of Nevada, USA.
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In the study published last week in the journal Science, experts concluded that the stone is a type of perovskite – mineral with a well-defined crystal structure composed of calcium silicate (CaSiO3).
The diamond was named as Davemaoite, in tribute to Chinese geologist Ho-Kwang “Dave” Mao of the Center for Advanced Research in High Pressure Science and Technology in Shanghai. Ho-Kwang had already managed to replicate the mineral in the laboratory. It was believed, however, that it would not be possible to find the mineral, as its formation depends on a very high pressure, such as that found in the Earth’s mantle.
The expectation is that the Davemaoite may be a new way to better understand the Earth’s structure and its diverse mineral formations.
The discovery of this new mineral “tells us a lot about the Earth’s evolution”, declared geologist Oliver Tschauner, leader of the studies carried out at the University of Nevada, to the BBC portal.
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