A mineral found more than twenty years ago in Switzerland’s Glarus Alps has turned out to be a previously unknown species. The unique mineral, called Heimit, owes its discovery to the corona pandemic.
The scientist who found the mineral in the Grosser Chalttal in 1999 took it out of the cellar during the lockdown and examined it under the microscope.
As the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT) announced, the stone specialist was amazed when he realized it was a mineral previously unknown to him.
More detailed analyzes carried out by the finder Philippe Roth of the Swiss Seismological Service of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich together with Nicolas Meisser of the Natureum natural science museum in Lausanne showed that it was actually a new type of mineral.
New phenomenon observed
The mineral from the Glarus Alps changes color from green to blue when illuminated by an electron beam from a scanning electron microscope. According to SCNAT, such a chameleon property has never been observed in any other mineral. The researchers now want to investigate this phenomenon further.
During the processing of private and public collections, homes from four other Swiss locations have now been discovered, the academy said. The researchers report that the mineral has also been found in old mines in Laurion, south of Athens.
Source: Krone
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