Wonder Mineral: Rare Siberian Mine Minerals Discovered, Unlike Anything Found in Nature

Mother nature has its way of producing the sturdiest of materials that can withstand the rigorous elements on Earth. Recently, a rare mineral was discovered in a Siberian coal mine that surprised scientists because of its potential uses.

Some say that the rare Siberian mineral is similar to some synthetic materials that scientist are used to creating inside the laboratory artificially. Apparently, nature can produce the same mineral in a natural way. And because of that, the rare mineral is dubbed as "wonder mineral" or "wonder material."

What makes it more interesting is that, since the 1980s, scientists have been producing almost the same mineral structure inside the lab, according to ScienceAlert. These lab-grown minerals are what they call MOFs that can work like sponges to soak up toxic gasses in the air, also hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The rare mineral has similarities to the MOFs or the metal organic frameworks (MOFs) discovered in the 1990s. The MOFs are being studied for their potential use in hydrogen storage, energy and toxic defense in the air because of its sponge-like properties. Because of the findings, experts now believe that nature might be capable of producing MOFs and that MOFs are not limited to its artificial versions.

"This raises the possibility that there might be other, more abundant, MOF minerals out there," Dr. Tomislav Friščić, an associate professor of chemistry at McGill University and lead author of the study said in an interview with Daily Mail.

Although chemists managed to create artificial versions of the minerals inside the lab, they also managed to collect samples of similar minerals that are not synthetic from Siberia. Their study found out that the natural minerals have almost the same complex honeycomb structure as the artificial MOFs. MOFs are usually composed of compounds such as metal and carbon. This means nature is also capable of producing such minerals on its own.

Today, scientists are looking for more natural rare minerals if there are more of the same kind that can be used for various purposes.  The samples were found 230 meters underground, hidden below the melting permafrost. It will take some time before mankind can use the wonder mineral but scientists say that this is a good sign and that there is nature is still continuously teaching men and science that there are a lot more to discover.