New mineral in diamond formed 660 km underground

It has been reported that a new mineral that has never been discovered has been found inside a diamond excavated in Botswana, southern Africa. The mineral was named Davemaoite after the English name of the Taiwanese physicist Ho-Kwang (Dave) Mao.

The diamond where Dave Maoit was found was unearthed in a mine located in Olava, Botswana. The width was 4 mm and the weight was 81 mg. Usually diamonds are formed around 120-250 km underground, but these diamonds were formed at a whopping 660 km underground.

When the University of Nevada research team X-rayed the diamond, it recognized the incorporation of small crystals of other minerals inside the diamond. In addition, a laser was used to cut the diamond and the minerals inside were subjected to mass spectrometry.

As a result, it was confirmed that the mineral contained therein was a calcium silicate crystal. Calcium silicate usually forms needle-shaped crystals, but it was confirmed that the calcium silicate crystals found in diamonds have a crystal structure that is only formed under extreme conditions of over 200,000 times the pressure above the ground, called a perovskite structure. .

Usually the perovskite structure collapses when the pressure is lowered, but the davemaoite discovered this time was trapped in a hard diamond for more than 100 million years, so it was able to be brought to the ground without collapsing. The research team said that when the diamond was opened, the structure could be maintained for one second, but after that, it was able to confirm the moment when it expands and turns into glass.

The team gave the decision the name Dave Maoit. It is also said that diamonds unearthed in Botswana contained sodium and potassium in addition to davemaoite. This is a surprising evaluation because it is thought that these elements do not exist in the depths of the Earth.

The research team continues to search for diamonds in the deepest part with the goal of discovering additional minerals. There is no way to tell how many years the excavated diamonds have been formed, and it is unknown where diamonds created from the deepest depths, such as Botswana diamonds, will be found. Related information can be found here.