[Rockhounds] Scientist Discovers Unusual New Mineral Inside a Diamond

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

A Ph.D. student at the University of Alberta has discovered a new and
curious mineral inside a diamond unearthed from a mine in South Africa.

The mineral—named goldschmidtite in honor of Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, the
founder of modern geochemistry—has an unusual chemical signature for a
mineral from Earth's mantle, explained Nicole Meyer, a graduate student in
the Diamond Exploration Research and Training School.

"Goldschmidtite has high concentrations of niobium, potassium and the rare
earth elements lanthanum and cerium, whereas the rest of the mantle is
dominated by other elements, such as magnesium and iron," said Meyer.

"For potassium and niobium to constitute a major proportion of this
mineral, it must have formed under exceptional processes that concentrated
these unusual elements."
https://www.geologyin.com/2019/09/scientist-discovers-unusual-new-mineral.html