[Rockhounds] Scientists discover exotic new mineral forged in the furnace of a Russian volcano

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Volcanoes rank among the most destructive and awe-inspiring phenomena on
the planet. But these fiery fissures do much more than just destroy. They
also create.

In a new study, researchers in Russia report the discovery of one such
creation – an unusual mineral never before documented by scientists: an
alluring, vibrantly blue-and-green crystallized substance the team have
called petrovite
<https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mineralogical-magazine/article/petrovite-na10cacu2so48-a-new-fumarolic-sulfate-from-the-great-tolbachik-fissure-eruption-kamchatka-peninsula-russia/08CD1AF71512AAF1146019481A3B42D1>
.

The mineral was found in the volcanic landscape of Russia's far east, atop
the Tolbachik volcano <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolbachik> in the
Kamchatka
Peninsula <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamchatka_Peninsula>.

Tolbachik's eruptive history traces back thousands of years, but in recent
times, two notable events stand out: the 'Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption'
of 1975–1976, and a second, lesser follow-up that took place between
2012–2013.

The force of eruptions during the first event tore numerous cinder cones
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinder_cone> in the volcanic complex,
opening up rocky terrain that's since been discovered to be a rich vein of
fumarole deposits and unknown minerals never seen anywhere else.

https://www.livescience.com/exotic-mineral-discovered-in-russian-volcano.html