Russian scientists have found new gold minerals in Kamchatka

Specialists from the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy named after V.S. Soboleva, together with colleagues from Italy and the Czech Republic, discovered a new gold mineral, auroselenide, at the Maletoivayam deposit in Kamchatka, writes Nauka.rf.

This mineral, which is a compound of gold with chalcogens (selenium and tellurium), was found in ores located about a kilometer underground.

Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences Nadezhda Tolstykh, leading researcher at the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, said that work on this find began by chance, when she was assigned to study the material composition of the ores. What she found was much more varied and interesting than expected.

The study of the minerals was carried out using a scanning electron microscope, and this made it possible to identify compounds of gold with tellurium, selenium and sulfur. Dr. Tolstykh grew synthetic analogues of these minerals and presented them to the International Commission on New Minerals.

As a result, a new mineral, maletoyvayamite, was confirmed, and two more discoveries followed: gachingite and auroselenide.