Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 30 January 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.69
News
World's oldest crystals get protection
Australian geoheritage reserve will save ancient zircons from abuse.
An outcrop of rock in Western Australia holding the planet's oldest discovered minerals is set to be declared a geoheritage reserve, saving it from any future mining activity.
The Jack Hills reserve, which won approval from the regional government last month, will encompass a few tens of square kilometres, including a small outcrop of just a few metres holding 4-billion-year-old crystal grains called zircons.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
There are currently no comments.
