The Earth began to form about 4.5 billion years ago. To understand how this happened in the early stages of our planet’s development, scientists are looking for ancient rock samples. One of these, approximately 3.5 billion years old, was discovered near Collie, Australia.

In the magazine Contact Earth and Environment An article has been published in which Australian scientists describe rock remains on the west coast of the continent. During the discovery, researchers analyzed grains of the mineral zircon in one of the samples of the Earth’s crust. It turned out that this rock was formed while our planet was still taking shape.

Geologists often determine the “age” of samples by checking the concentration of zircon in them. This mineral contains traces of radioactive uranium that eventually turns into lead. By measuring the ratio of lead and uranium particles in zircon, it is possible to understand how long ago the grains crystallized.

Zircons are embedded in another mineral, titanite. It is stable enough to protect ancient zircon crystals from changes in chemical composition, pressure and temperature during rock movement for long periods of time.

Scientists have already found remains of ancient earth’s crust in Australia, for example in Murchison County. However, as the authors of the new scientific study note, they could not assume that the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthese rocks was so large.

“We also found similar ancient zircon grains further north in the sand of the Swan River, which flows through Perth and drains the same area, further confirming the age and origin of these ancient materials,” the researchers said. he emphasized.

Our planet’s crust is often “interrupted” by layers of dark magma rich in iron and magnesium. They can be deep within the Earth, all the way into the planet’s mantle. Geologists call such structures dams. Levees can form at depths of more than 50 kilometers, which is much deeper than the deepest man-made borehole, which is approximately 12 kilometers long.

The new study will help to better understand the formation process of our planet and discover new mineral deposits. Often, many metals find boundaries between large blocks of the earth’s crust that form over time. Therefore, more detailed examination of rock layers will improve the extraction of various metals.