Kyawthuite is a kind of mineral that has been found in the form of a single stone precious, near Mogok, Myanmar. The stone was recognized by the Mineralogical International in 2015. The mineral is a transparent reddish-orange stone. The only one already located weighs about 1.61 carats.
Next, we will tell you a little more about this stone that is so exotic and hard to find.
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In total, there are about 6,000 minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association. Many are formed by numerous processes, with certain really different chemistry that ultimately lead to an identical result.
While it is possible for a mineral to form only once, its samples could very easily be separated and spread over a large area. That way, the mineral would be known to have a single sample in the world. This is the case with the kyawthuite crystal.
How to get kyawthuite?
In order to gain access to a kyawthuite, it is not necessary that you take the only species stored at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. A synthetic compound almost identical to the original had already been recognized.
The transparent reddish-orange crystal is the only species that weighs 1.61 carats and 0.3 grams. Its chemical formula is Bi3+Sb5+O4 with traces of tantalum. Bismuth, like antimony, is a rare metal, but not all that exotic. Bismuth is found more readily in the Earth's crust than gold, while antimony is more abundant than silver.
The most abundant element in the earth's crust is oxygen. Therefore, the rarity of kyawthuite must be related to its method of formation and a certain scarcity of its elements.
Because of the weight of bismuth, the density of kyawthuite crystal is more than eight times the density of water. For this reason, the stone is even smaller than its weight would suggest. The structure of the stone is described by Caltech as a sheet structure of octahedra Sb5+O6 parallel to Bi3+ atoms.
It is the only recognized bismuth oxide and is named after Yangon University geologist Dr. Kyaw Thu.
Kyawthuite was found in a creek bed by sapphire hunters. It was approved as a distinct mineral in 2015 by the IMA. In 2017, its scientific description was published.