New mineral discovered in Sweden

The new mineral, called skogbyite, is rich in zirconium, magnesium and manganese. It was discovered by Erik Jonsson, State Geologist at the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU).

Minerals are the building blocks of the earth and are usually made up of chemical compounds. This means that they consist of several different elements that are bonded together, according to the SGU. Today, about 6000 different terrestrial minerals and extraterrestrial materials are known, which also means that new discoveries are rare.

The new mineral, Skogbyite, is named after Professor Henrik Skogby of the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. The mineral was found at Långban in western Bergslagen, one of the most mineral-rich places in the world, and was discovered by State Geologist Erik Jonsson. The mineral consists of zirconium, magnesium, manganese, oxygen and silicon as a special chemical compound.

– It is particularly interesting to see that zirconium, which is normally considered very ‘stable’ and difficult to mobilize during geological processes, appears to have been reactive in this case, forming new minerals as the bedrock was affected by elevated pressures and temperatures, Jonsson said in a press release.

The work to characterize the mineral was done in collaboration with researchers from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Uppsala University and also Sapienza University in Rome. It has also been approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), the international scientific body responsible for mineral systematics.