Scientists discovered a new mineral Putnisite in Western Australia. The new mineral was discovered from the Polar Bear peninsula, Southern Lake Cowan, Western Australia, Australia. It was discovered by a team led by Dr Peter Elliott of South Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide.
The discovery of Putnisite with chemical formula (CO3)8SO4(OH)16·25H2O was published in the February 2014 issue of the Mineralogical Magazine.
The new mineral is named after Drs Christine and Andrew Putnis from the University of Münster, Germany, for their outstanding contributions to mineralogy.
New mineral is unique in structure and composition among the 4000 known mineral species of world. The mineral is of very unusual combination as it combines the elements strontium, calcium, chromium, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.
The new mineral occurs as tiny crystals, no more than 0.5 mm in diameter and is found on a volcanic rock. It is associated with quartz and a near amorphous Cr silicate.
It appears as dark pink spots on dark green and white rock which, under the microscope, appears as square, cube-like crystals.
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