What makes diamonds blue? Boron from oceanic crustal remnants in Earth's lower mantle
August 1, 2018, Carnegie Institution for Science
A blue, boron-bearing diamond with dark inclusions of a mineral called ferropericlase, which were examined as part of this study. This gem weighs 0.03 carats. Credit: Evan Smith/GIA
Blue diamonds—like the world-famous Hope Diamond at the National Museum of Natural History—formed up to four times deeper in the Earth's mantle than most other diamonds, according to new work published on the cover of Nature.
"These so-called type IIb diamonds are tremendously valuable, making them hard to get access to for scientific research purposes," explained lead author Evan Smith of the Gemological Institute of America, adding, "and it is very rare to find one that contains inclusions, which are tiny mineral crystals trapped inside the diamond."
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-diamonds-blue-boron-oceanic-crustal.html#jCp
