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A theoretical mineral, which can be created in a lab, has finally been discovered deep inside a diamond.
The sample comes from 410 miles below our feet, created in the high pressure of the lower mantle.
It is a calcium silicate perovskite that has been named davemaoite.
"The discovery is the result of decades of efforts, and the development and use of microanalytical techniques for identifying structures and compositions of micron-scale inclusions in diamonds."
Lead Author Dr. Oliver Tschauner from UNLV.
The team found, through structural and chemical analysis, that the mineral is able to host a wide variety of elements, specifically large amounts of trapped potassium.
It has been shown experimentally that this mineral can act as a sort of garbage can for radioactive uranium and thorium. Along with potassium, these are major heat-producing elements.
Davemaoite is only the second high-pressure phase silicate mineral confirmed in nature. The first was bridgmanite, found inside a meteorite.
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