I am sharing with you a cool mineral discovery that took place just last year. Petrovite, the new mineral is a newly discovered fumarolic sulfate and it was found in the Great Tolbachik fissure eruption in the Kamchatka Peninsula area of Russia.
Although I love working with gems and minerals, I’m also writing on topics such as renewables for CleanTechnica and this article by Open Access Government caught my eye.
The article pointed out that Petrovite could power batteries and touched upon the idea of using minerals to create renewable energy. "What if naturally occurring substances could power the batteries of the world?" That was the question asked in the article. Petrovite is one such mineral and has an interesting chemical composition.
The chemical structure of the mineral is a mix of sodium, calcium, copper, sulfur, and oxygen. The mineral looks really cool with blue globular aggregates of tabular crystals that have gaseous inclusions. Petrovite has oxygen atoms, sodium-sulfur, and copper and together these create a porous framework that connects the voids to one another through channels that act as an interstate highway for small sodium atoms to travel.
It’s an interesting read and the article cited a study by the University of Cambridge. I will include the links to both below. The photo cover for the podcast is not mine but is from the Mineralogical Museum of St. Petersburg State University.
Cambridge Study
Open Acces Government article

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