New mineral discovered in Australia, named Putnisite
Scientists have discovered a newmineral in Western Australia that is unique in structure and composition among the world's 4,000 known mineral species.
The mineral was named after theAustralian mineralogists Andrew and Christine Putnis.The mineral 'Putnisite', described by a visiting research fellow at theUniversity of Adelaide in Mineralogical Magazine, was found in a surface outcrop at Lake Cowan, north of Norseman in Western Australia. 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, appears as square, cube-like crystals.
It combines the elements strontium, calcium, chromium, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen - a very unusual combination.
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