The rare mineral contained in this beautiful diamond is a silicate mineral called Davemaoite and can only form in the lower layers or sub-mantle of the earth’s crust. Mineral expert from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Oliver Tschauner identified the chemical composition and structure of this new mineral as a type of Calcium, namely Perovskite Silicate.
This mineral is named Davemaoite after the first scientist to discover it, a well-known high-pressure geophysicist Ho-kwang (Dave) Mao (SN: 16/3/04). The mineral Davemaoite was found in the form of tiny gray mineral lumps embedded in these beautiful clear diamond slices.
This is the first Davemaoite sample to be found from the wild, previously only predicted from laboratory experiments. This is the first time that scientists have proven definitively that this type of mineral found in the earth’s lowest layer of crust actually exists in nature.
“Another interesting aspect of this new mineral is that it is surprisingly rich in potassium compared to laboratory predictions,” said Sang-Heon Shim, a geophysicist at Arizona State University in Tempe. (Read also; 200 Years Saved by Family, Marie Antoinette Diamond Bracelet Sold for IDR 118 M )
This discovery is very useful for studying the layers of the earth’s crust and various other rare minerals that are in it. Because, it is very difficult to directly observe the minerals that are in the earth like that. Moreover, this rare mineral structure can only be stable under strong pressure under the underground layer that stretches up to 2,700 kilometers below the earth’s surface.
Diamonds act like time capsules, locking in the shape of the original mineral on its way to the earth’s surface. The discovery of Davemaoite not only confirmed its existence, but also revealed the location of several distant heat sources within the earth. (Read also; Lasts a month, the title of the world’s third largest diamond breaks )
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