New Mineral Discovered in the Polar Bear Peninsula (Video)

Thank University of Adelaide mineralogy researcher Peter Elliot for unearthing this striking discovery.

Known as putnisite, the mineral is named after Drs Christine and Andrew Putnis from the University of Münster, Germany, for their outstanding contributions to mineralogy, according to Sci-News, and made up of isolated pseudocubic crystals that can be up to 0.5 mm in diameter and hold a translucent pink streak. 

"What defines a mineral is its chemistry and crystallography. By x-raying a single crystal of mineral you are able to determine its crystal structure and this, in conjunction with chemical analysis, tells you everything you need to know about the mineral," Elliot explained, via a press release, who conducted a detailed analysis on the mineral. "Most minerals belong to a family or small group of related minerals, or if they aren't related to other minerals they often are to a synthetic compound -- but putnisite is completely unique and unrelated to anything."

Putnisite's unique combination of calcium, strontium, chromium, carbon, sulphur, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen elements make the mineral stand out among 4,000 others, along with its extensive formula: SrCa₄Cr₈³⁺(CO₃)₈SO₄(OH)₁₆•25H₂O.

The Mohs hardness has been calculated at 2.23 grams per centimeter cube, amounting at 1.5 to 2 and measures in at 2.20 grams hardness per centimeter cube.

The practical use of the mineral has yet to be determined at this time.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Mineralogical Magazine.

Want to learn more about this new mineral? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.