by Heidi Vella
 
Understanding more about mineral formations and physical properties has high value for academics, miners, material scientists and engineers alike. And while mineralogists and geologists have been studying the Earth’s crust for centuries, its sheer size and complexity means there is still much more to discover.
 
“Much of what we learn through material and atomic scale behaviour is through minerals, so it is important to know and characterise what is out there,” says Dr Shaunna Morrison, a mineralogist and planetary scientist at Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory.
 
“When we have a good representation of the actual mineral inventory it can tell us a lot about the geologic past of our planet.”
 
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