New Silver Mineral Discovered in China's Qinling Mountains

A team of researchers has reported a previously unknown mineral named fengruiite (chemical formula) discovered in the Haopinggou Ag–Pb–Zn–Au ore deposit of eastern Qinling, China. The study, published in 2026 by Yongfei Tian, Guowu Li, Ningyue Sun, Min Liu, Jingwen Mao, Yunpeng Dong, Peng Liu, Wei Jian, Wei Yao, Xiuquan Wang, and Huishou Ye, used microscopy, chemical analysis, and crystal-structure tests to show that tellurium-rich structures help trap and concentrate silver within hot mineral-forming fluids, offering fresh clues about how silver-rich deposits form. ¹

In another 2026 publication, Christian Ronny Singer, Harald Behrens, Ingo Horn, Martin Oeser, Stefan Weyer, and François Holtz described an experimental setup designed to investigate lithium and boron transport between two melt reservoirs connected only through a fluid phase—an analogue for late-stage pegmatite formation. Their results indicate that both elements are carried via the fluid but at low rates; moreover, lithium isotopes fractionate with the heavier ^7Li preferentially enriching the fluid compared to the melts. ¹

The European Journal of Mineralogy also released Newsletter 92 from the IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC), authored by Ferdinando Bosi, Frédéric Hatert, Marco Pasero, and Stuart J. Mills in 2026. The newsletter outlines recent updates to nomenclature rules and classification guidelines for newly proposed minerals. ¹