Metamorphism — formation of new minerals directly from the elements within existing minerals under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure. Weathering — during which minerals unstable at Earth’s surface may be altered to other minerals.

Metamorphic rocks form when an existing rock is changed by heat or pressure. The minerals in the rock change but do not melt. The rock experiences these changes within the Earth.

Answer: Yes, a mineral can be formed in more than one process. Explanation: Minerals are formed naturally and therefore does not require intervention from an organic entity.

Mineral evolution is a recent hypothesis that provides historical context to mineralogy. The remaining minerals, more than two-thirds of the total, were the result of chemical changes mediated by living organisms, with the largest increase occurring after the Great Oxygenation Event.

diamond

The Rarest Minerals on Earth: The Highlights

1. Tanzanite. Named after Tanzania, Tanzanite is a stunning blue mineral of the zoisite family.
2. Larimar.
3. Alexandrite.
4. Benitoite.
5. Painite.
6. Red Beryl.
7. Poudretteite.

The Neutron is the tiniest and heaviest thing known to man kind. It is a subatomic particle. It has neutral electrical charge. It makes up the nucleus of an atom along with the proton.

GN-z11

GN-z11 is the youngest and most distant galaxy scientists have observed. This video zooms to its location, some 32 billion light-years away. GN-z11 is 13.4 billion years old and formed 400 million years after the Big Bang. Its irregular shape is typical for galaxies of that time period.

In 1936, Hubble debuted a way to classify galaxies, grouping them into four main types: spiral galaxies, lenticular galaxies, elliptical galaxies, and irregular galaxies.

GRB 090423 was also the oldest known object in the Universe, apart from the methuselah star. As the light from the burst took approximately 13 billion years to reach Earth.

1) When you look toward the Galactic Center with your eye, you see a long, thin strip. This suggests a disk seen edge-on, rather than a ellipsoid or another shape. We can also detect the bulge at the center. Since we see spiral galaxies which are disks with central bulges, this is a bit of a tipoff.

The Ant 2 “ghost” galaxy is a large, dim dwarf galaxy that scientists have discovered near the edge of the Milky Way. While low in mass, Ant 2 is about the same size as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).

the Andromeda Galaxy

Pluto. Pluto as observed by the New Horizons spacecraft, July 13, 2015. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. After Neptune’s discovery in 1846, the search was on for another, even more distant planet, Planet X, which seemed to be perturbing the other planets’ orbits.

Image via Montana State University. Bottom line: Astronomers discovered 13 massive black holes in dwarf galaxies. Roughly half of them are not in their galaxy’s center, but instead “wandering” elsewhere in the galaxy. Via National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy

Minerals form under an enormous range of geologic conditions. There are probably more ways to form minerals than there are types of minerals themselves. Minerals can form from volcanic gases, sediment formation, oxidation, crystallization from magma, or deposition from a saline fluid, to list a few.

Deposits of minerals form when a medium that contains and transports mineral-making ore releases and deposits the ore. When magma or lava cools, the magma and ore carried within it crystallize to form tiny minerals in the newly-created igneous rock. Minerals found in such rock might include feldspar or mica.

Sodium and phosphorus-based food additives are among the most commonly consumed nutrients in the world.

pencils

Graphite prices started to recover in 2005 and with average growt rates of 5% per annum over the past decade. They are currently well over USD$1,300/t with premium product rumoured to be selling at up to USD$3,000/t as the supply of large flake, high carbon graphite is tightening.

In April 2019, the global price of graphite was 690 U.S. dollars per metric ton.

graphite, flake: price conversions and cost

Graphite mining is one speculative way for investors to diversify their mining portfolios. Many investors are interested in graphite because it is used in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars. But it has a number of other potentially profitable uses, as well.