According to the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources,A new mineral discovered in a rare earth mine in Henan Province was officially approved by the International Mineralogical Society and named "Ni Peishi".This new mineral has important scientific value in new materials and other fields.According to reports, Nipei stone is a rare earth silicate mineral, which belongs to the cerite mineral supergroup and has a trigonal crystal system.
The mineral is named after Professor Ni Pei of the School of Earth Sciences and Engineering of Nanjing University, in tribute to his long-term outstanding achievements in the research fields of tungsten, tin polymetals, and rare and rare earth mineral deposits.
Ni Peishi was discovered in the rare earth mine of Taiping Town, Xixia County, Henan Province. It is light red to reddish brown in color, off-white under single polarized light, has a translucent-transparent glass luster, is brittle, has a shell-shaped fracture, and has a calculated density of 4.943 g/cm3. It is the most cerium-rich silicate mineral currently found in nature.
The discovery of Ni Peishi, especially its unique chemical composition and crystal structure characteristics, broke the previous classification and naming system of the cerite superfamily.
Ni Peishi is also the third new mineral of the cerite supergroup discovered in nature by a Chinese scientific research team and officially approved by the International Mineralogical Society.
The three new minerals of the cerite supergroup are: Taiping stone, Chang'e stone, and Nipeite.