sciencetech-blog

comments

Buried deep within volcanic rock of Western Australia, researchers have stumbled across a mineral that is unlike any other crystal on Earth.

The purple mineral is 'completely unique in its structure and composition' and contains an unusual combination of elements, including: strontium, calcium, chromium, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

It has been named putnisite and its tiny crystals are are no more than half a millimetre in diameter.

Deep purple: The mineral has been named putnisite and the tiny crystals are no more than half a millimetre in diameter, found on volcanic rock (pictured) This sample measures 0.4mm and was recovered from Armstrong Mine in Widgiemooltha, Western Austalia

Dr Peter Elliott, a mineralogy researcher at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum, has described the mineral that was discovered south of Lake Cowan near the town of Norseman in Western Australia.

The purple mineral is associated with quartz and is very brittle.

It is unique among the world's 4,000 known mineral species, according to the study published in Mineralogical Magazine.

'What defines a mineral is its chemistry and crystallography,' Dr Elliott said.

'By X-raying a single crystal of mineral you are able to determine its crystal structure and this, in conjunction with chemical analysis, tells you everything you need to know about the mineral.

Found: Dr Peter Elliott, a mineralogy researcher at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum, described the mineral that was discovered south of Lake Cowan (pictured) near the town of Norseman in Western Australia

'Most minerals belong to a family or small group of related minerals, or if they aren't related to other minerals they often are to a synthetic compound - but putnisite is completely unique and unrelated to anything.

'Nature seems to be far cleverer at dreaming up new chemicals than any researcher in a laboratory.'

The new mineral occurs as tiny crystals, no more than 0.5 mm in diameter and is found on a volcanic rock.

It appears as dark pink spots on dark green and white rock which, under the microscope, look like square, cube-like crystals.

The mineral is made up of a 'very unusual' combination of elements, including: strontium, calcium, chromium, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

Not quite part of the family: The newly-discovered purple mineral is associated with quartz (pictured) and is very brittle. Experts said that while most minerals belong to a family, putnisite is completely unique and unrelated to anything

It has yet to be determined if the new mineral will have any practical use, but putnisite has been named for important Australian mineralogists Andrew and Christine Putnis.

The mineral was first discovered during prospecting by a mining company in the area and was passed on to CSIRO for initial before being handed to Dr Elliott for more detailed analysis.

Dr Elliott has researched 12 new Australian minerals in the past seven years and found seven of those himself.

Two of these 'new' minerals - domerockite and hylbrownite - were discovered in South Australia and were named after Dome Rock, where the mineral was first was found and Henry Yorke Lyle Brown, who was Government Geologist of South Australia from 1882 to 1912.