Breaking the 220-year-old stone in the museum, the experts suprise: It's precious than gold!

The stone found 220 years ago turned out to be a priceless treasure when viewed inside.

Researchers from the Natural History Museum in London; Diamond Light Source in Hardwell (UK) and Slovakia stumbled upon a new mineral while investigating a sample of liroconite, a bright blue mineral recovered from a mine in Cornwall 220 years ago.

Inside the core of the stone is a special mineral that has never been seen before.

While investigating the mineral sample, lead researcher Mike Rumsey tried to understand why the color of liroconite changed from light teal to deep emerald green.

After seeing a change in the mineral's color, the researchers smashed it to separate the interior of the stone's core. The strange thing is that it "reveals" a special mineral that has never been seen before.

"The change in color is due to a chemical change, and as mineralogists we identify it as a new mineral," Rumsey said in a media statement.

Sci-News reports that scientists have named this special material kernowite, which was formed by accident when elements found in water flowed through a rock that had recombined with certain elements. in rocks, forming what are called "secondary minerals". The special thing is that from 1700 to now, only Cornwall of England is the only place in the world where this strange emerald-colored mineral appears.

"Liroconite is a beautiful bright blue mineral from Cornwall and I'm trying to figure out why its color changes from light teal to deep emerald green," said researcher Mike Rumsey.

According to BBC, the extremely beautiful stone, like enclosing another emerald stone, has been unearthed in Cornwall (England) since the 1700s and has been included in the collection of this museum since 1964. .

However, until 2020, a new analysis of the emerald core shows that it is an entirely new material, different from anything the world has ever seen. It is a rare thing that has not been found anywhere, outside of England.

To identify the material as new, the scientists analyzed to determine the chemical composition of the material and the position of the atoms in the 3D crystal structure. As long as one of the above two factors has never been recorded in any material, it will be determined to be new. In kernowite, all is new.

"The stone is new and no one has found the second stone, so it is difficult to value the stone. But it certainly has a huge value compared to other known materials, is a treasure," said Mike Rumsey.

Mike Rumsey also revealed that he hopes to learn more about this beautiful mineral. They will likely be found more frequently in other public and private collections. But until more can be found, one specimen kept at a museum and another in private collection are the only examples of Kernowite worldwide.