Austria Discovers New Mineral With Potential For Science, Technology - Reports

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2021) Austrian scientists have discovered a new mineral of the tourmaline group that can be used in science and technology, the Austria Press Agency (APA) reported on Wednesday.

The unnamed mineral collector has discovered several pink crystals in the Raabs an der Thaya municipality of Lower Austria, larger samples of which were several inches in length. The collector reported the discovery to mineralogists at the University of Vienna, who, after extensive research, concluded that it was a previously unknown mineral from the tourmaline group. According to the researchers, it has some distinctive features and potential for applications in science and technology.

The new tourmaline was named aluminooxyrossmanite due to its chemical properties.

Researcher Andreas Ertl of the Department of Mineralogy and Crystallography at the University of Vienna told APA that the mineral contains the highest amount of aluminum ever recorded in tourmalines. At the same time, it contains very little water and sodium, which indicates the special conditions of its formation.

According to Ertl, the crystals formed about 340 million years ago at high pressure from the melt of very dry rock with a temperature of about 700 degrees Celsius (1,292 Fahrenheit).