The mineral, discovered by amateur geologist Gábor Koller seven years ago, has been named rudabanyaite.

Béla Fehér, head of the museum’s mineral collection, said that out of the about 5,000 minerals known across the world, there are only nine minerals including this new one that were discovered on Hungary’s current territory.

Whenever such a new discovery is made, experts examine the mineral’s chemical composition and its structure. The new mineral turned out to have a structure that had been unknown before, the museum said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

Photo: Baranco Benedek, Ottó Herman Museum of Miskolc