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The dark green mineral was called kernowite in Cornwall hof his name used in ancient dialect (Kernow) – the discovery was reported in a statement from the British Museum of Natural History (NHM).
The new mineral was discovered by a research team led by the museum’s mineral researcher, Mike Rumsey, by examining one of the rock samples found in the geological collection since 1964, located exclusively in one of the most famous mining and mineral areas. of the world, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Kernowite
Source: Museum of Natural History
Mineral researchers have for centuries believed that green crystal is a variant of another mineral, liroconite (lens mineral), but geologists have realized that the mineral they analyze has a different chemical composition.
Rumsey, chief curator of the museum’s mineralogical collection, stressing the significance of the discovery, said that most of the new minerals were discovered in Cornwall over a hundred years ago when the mines were still in operation, thus the discovery of a new mineral from there is fantastic for that reason alone.
“Considering the number of geologists, explorers and collectors who have worked in mineral exploration over the past centuries, it’s great that we could get rich with another new mineral in 2020,” Rumsey said.
According to the museum, in Britain new minerals are discovered on average every three to four years. Scientific description of kernowite will be published in 2021 by researchers Mineralogical Magazine-prohibition.
The mine from which the rock sample was brought to the museum operated from 1790 to 1909 and no trace has survived to this day. Rumsey says this stone is very important because it is “like a little time capsule.”
The scientist added that the museum has preserved this pattern, confirming that this type of research is worth conducting, as rocks can no longer be collected at the site.
The crystal structure of kernowite is similar to that of lyroconite, but kernowite contains iron instead of aluminum, which changes color.
The Natural History Museum in London houses one of the most important and comprehensive mineral collections in the world, containing around 185,000 varieties of minerals.
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