Mineralogy articles from across Nature Portfolio

Mineralogy is the study of minerals, the building blocks of rocks, which are naturally-occurring, crystalline solids with a set chemical make-up. This includes the study of the chemical composition and physical properties of minerals, as well as mineral formation and geographic distribution, with particular emphasis on minerals with economic value.

Latest Research and Reviews

Research
24 March 2023 | Open Access

Superionic effect and anisotropic texture in Earth’s inner core driven by geomagnetic field

Earth’s inner core is heterogeneous and anisotropic. A new study based on computational simulation reveals the presence of ionic hydrogen flux in iron crystals, driven by the dipole geomagnetic field, which promotes the formation of observed inner core structure.
- Shichuan Sun
- , Yu He
- & Ho-kwang Mao
Nature Communications 14, 1656
Research
23 March 2023 | Open Access

HIDSAG: Hyperspectral Image Database for Supervised Analysis in Geometallurgy
- Alejandro Ehrenfeld
- , Álvaro F. Egaña
- & Felipe Navarro
Scientific Data 10, 164
Research | 23 March 2023

Increasing complexity in magmatic architecture of volcanoes along a waning hotspot

Intraplate volcanoes erupt lower volumes of more diverse magma and have increasingly complex magmatic architectures as the heat flux from the driving mantle plume wanes, according to an analysis of a continental hotspot chain in eastern Australia.
- A. T. Tapu
- , T. Ubide
- & P. M. Vasconcelos
Nature Geoscience, 1-9
Research
21 March 2023 | Open Access

Separation, reserve estimation and radioactivity responsibility of the economic heavy minerals of East El- Arish black sand, North Sinai, Egypt
- M. Awad
- , A. M. El Mezayen
- & M. Y. Hanfi
Scientific Reports 13, 4608
Research | 20 March 2023

The magmatic architecture and evolution of the Chang’e-5 lunar basalts

The lunar basalts sampled by the Chang’e-5 mission originated from melting of a clinopyroxene-rich mantle source enhanced in radioactive elements, potentially explaining this late lunar volcanism, according to sample analysis and crystallization modelling.
- Biji Luo
- , Zaicong Wang
- & Hongfei Zhang
Nature Geoscience, 1-8
Research
20 March 2023 | Open Access

Grain boundary widening controls siderite (FeCO₃) replacement of limestone (CaCO₃)
- Juliane Weber
- , Vitalii Starchenko
- & Lawrence M. Anovitz
Scientific Reports 13, 4581

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News and Comment

Research Highlights | 24 March 2023

Gender in mining
- Silvana Lakeman
Nature Energy 8, 221
Comments & Opinion | 10 March 2023

Tetrataenite’s magnetic personality

Following on from insights gleaned from iron meteorites, Claire Nichols explains why tetrataenite, with its unique magnetic properties, could be key for future renewable energy technologies.
- Claire I. O. Nichols
Nature Geoscience 16, 195
Comments & Opinion | 10 February 2023

Quartz for all time

From the tools of Stone Age ancestors to records of Earth’s history, Yang Li and Xian-Hua Li explore how the properties of quartz place it at the heart of human innovation.
- Yang Li
- & Xian-Hua Li
Nature Geoscience 16, 112
Comments & Opinion | 05 December 2022

Bridgmanite across the lower mantle

Earth’s most abundant mineral — bridgmanite — lies hidden in the lower mantle, but Li Zhang is hopeful that advances in analytical techniques may reveal the inner workings of our world.
- Li Zhang
Nature Geoscience 15, 964
Comments & Opinion | 03 November 2022

Digging into deep water

Nature Geoscience spoke with Dr Qingyang Hu, a high-pressure mineralogist at HPSTAR; Prof. Suzan van der Lee, a geophysicist at Northwestern University; and Prof. Katherine Kelley, a geochemist at the University of Rhode Island about their work and what the future of deep-water research might bring.
- Rebecca Neely
Nature Geoscience 15, 858-860
Editorial | 03 November 2022

Deep Earth bound by water

Research efforts from across the geosciences are uncovering how water deep within the Earth affects its fundamental workings.

Nature Geoscience 15, 855