New Discovery-Wumuite

Recently, Professor Li Guowu from Crystal Structure Laboratory in China University of Geosciences has discovered a new mineral with tungsten bronze type structure--- wumuite. The new discovery was officially approved by IMA-CNMNC (Approval No. IMA2017-067a). This is the first natural mineral with tungsten bronze type structure found in the world.

The new mineral has been found in semi-weathered quartz-monzonite of Neoproterozoic basement in Yunnan Province. Wumuite owns hexagonal crystal system. Its formula is KAl0.33W2.67O9 and space group is P6/mmm. The unit cell parameter is a = 7.2952(5) Å, c = 3.7711(3) Å. The wumuite is characterized by hexagonal tungsten bronze type structure.

Tungsten bronze is a kind of material with advanced properties and has important applications in optics, electricity and magnetism. The natural minerals discovered this time show the same structural type as the synthetic tungsten bronze material but have different characteristics of unit cell and space group. It has great theoretical and practical significance for studying the chemical properties of tungsten bronze crystal and the origin of mineral.

Professor Li Guowu is known to have been committed to the research of new mineral discoveries for a long time. So far, 21 new minerals have been found by him and approved by the International Minerals Association's Mineral Classification and New Mineral Nomenclature Committee. It is one of scholars who has discovered a lot of new minerals.to discover new minerals. In 2013, Na2(Nb, Ti)2O6F and (Na, Pb)2(Nb, Ti) 2O6F submitted to IMA-CNMNC were approved. The study of pyrochlore supergroup minerals was selected into the Top Ten Geological Science and Technology Progress of Geological Society of China in 2013. In 2014, the newly-discovered mineral Tewite was approved by IMA-CNMNC as well.