Deep in Myanmar’s Mogok region, a single gemstone has earned the title of Earth’s rarest mineral: kyawthuite. Discovered in 2010, this tiny reddish-orange crystal, weighing just 1.61 carats, was initially overlooked by miners. Only later, after being examined by Dr. Kyaw Thu, did scientists realise its uniqueness. In 2015, the International Mineralological Association officially recognised it as a new mineral.
Kyawthuite is a bismuth-antimony oxide, formed under extraordinary conditions in the pegmatite rock of Myanmar. Its dense structure includes chequerboard-like sheets of antimony and oxygen against bismuth atoms. The crystal’s formation is linked to the intense geological activity from the collision of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates.
Today, kyawthuite is kept at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where it continues to fascinate scientists, despite concerns over the ethical issues surrounding Myanmar’s gemstone industry.
