Kernowite is a new mineral found only in an old specimen collected from a single site in Cornwall, UK.
Kernowite (green color). Image credit: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.
The only known specimen of kernowite, named after Kernow, which is the Cornish word for Cornwall, was collected in the 18th century.
It became part of the Natural History Museum, London’s geological collections in 1964.
“When you consider how many geologists, prospectors and collectors have scoured the county over the centuries in search of mineral treasures, it is amazing that we are adding a new mineral in 2020,” said Mike Rumsey, chief curator of minerals at the Natural History Museum. London.
Kernowite is what is known as a secondary mineral because of the way it is formed.
It is formed when other rocks, close to the Earth’s surface, have mobilized their chemical elements through circulating water.
The elements now present in the liquid combine again to create a new mineral from different elements of previously crystallized rock.
It is not always possible to date the formation of a secondary mineral and many are likely to have a short ‘lifespan’ as they are subject to erosion.
“To show that we have a new species, we have to perform analyzes that determine the chemical composition of the material, the positions of these atoms in the 3D crystal structure,” Rumsey said.
“Broadly speaking, if either or both of these characteristics are unique, the mineral is new.”
“Part of the internal structure was dominated by iron instead of aluminum, so we felt it was worthy of a new name, kernowite.”
“While nuclear weed has no apparent direct application, all newly found minerals build on our understanding of materials in general,” he added.
The description of kernowite is published in Mineralogical magazine in 2021.