New Mineral Discovered in Ostrava-Karviná Coal Mines — Named Korolikite

Geologists from the Technical University of Ostrava (VŠB-TUO) have discovered a previously unknown mineral deep within the coal mines of the Ostrava-Karviná basin. The newly identified mineral has been named korolikite, in honour of Czech mineralogist, teacher and researcher Jiří Korolik, who spent many years working at the university.

The discovery didn't come easily. The research took a long time, mainly because of the mineral's microscopic size. While many previously described minerals form fairly large crystals that are easy to work with, korolikite is submicroscopic — it simply can't be seen with the naked eye.

How the mineral was found

Geologist Dalibor Matýsek was the first to spot it while examining a sample under an electron microscope. The mineral sits directly on crystals of rock salt and, like the salt itself, is transparent — at first glance, it's almost impossible to distinguish it from its host material.

To have the mineral officially recognised, scientists needed to pin down its exact chemical composition and other properties. According to researcher Jakub Jirásek, given its tiny size and how difficult it was to separate from the surrounding salt, standard mineralogical methods alone simply weren't enough.

Help from colleagues — and a synchrotron

The team had to work through several different analytical techniques. Colleagues from the CATRIN centre in Olomouc took part in the research, along with German scientists who helped secure access to synchrotron measurements — data that couldn't be obtained using any methods available in Czechia.

The researchers then managed to collect additional samples from the mines, proving that korolikite is not a one-off find but actually occurs fairly often in salt flow formations.

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Source: ekolist.cz