Super deep diamond found in the Cullinan mine reveals Earth minerals never seen before.

Super deep diamond found in the Cullinan mine reveals Earth minerals never seen before.

How the inner structure of the Earth behaves has always been a mystery, but scientists are gradually discovering more clues as they study the composition of the rocks, such as the super-deep diamond recently found at the Cullinan mine, South Africa. At first glance, the specimen appears like any other diamond. Measuring approximately 3 millimeters wide, perhaps the only unusual thing was its small size.

In addition, its name does not seem to fit the depth at which it was excavated, since the precious stone was found ironically less than a kilometer below the surface. After being polished, an international group of researchers saw a strange piece inside the diamond. Later they identified it as calcium silicate perovskite CaSiO3, the fourth most abundant mineral in the interior of the Earth. Although there are large deposits of mineral in the mantle of the planet, this is the first time that has been found naturally on the surface. Scientists could only study its nature by synthesizing a chemical duplicate. The presence of the perovskite inside the specimen indicates that the diamond probably formed about 700 kilometers inside the planet, specifically from an oceanic crust that experienced some form of collision after being exposed to an intense pressure of around 240,000 atmospheres. According to our findings, there could be as much as Zetta tons 1,021 of this perovskite in the deep Earth.

Видео Super deep diamond found in the Cullinan mine reveals Earth minerals never seen before. канала Science and more