Geologists have discovered a mineral known as calcium silicate perovskite (CaSiO3) trapped inside a tiny diamond that was mined from less than a kilometer of the earth’s surface at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa. For so long, the mineral existed in theory in spite of the fact it is fourth most abundant mineral inside the Earth. Humans have never seen it before because it becomes extremely unstable above a depth of about 650 kilometers (400 miles). Scientists are of the opinion that the mineral survived the ascent because it was trapped inside a ‘super-deep’ diamond”.
About calcium silicate perovskite:
- Calcium silicate perovskite is there in abundance in Earth’s mantle. To be precise, this mineral makes up about 93 percent of Earth’s lower mantle.
- The Molar Mass of CaSiO3 is 116.1617.
The diamond in which the mineral was found was most probably formed very deep, around 700 kilometers, in Earth. Generally, most diamonds are formed between 93 and 124 miles in the mantle.