Chibaite – A New Mineral Containing Natural Gas

Dr. Koichi Momma, a Researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science, and Dr. Takuji Ikeda, a Senior Researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, in joint work with the Chiba Natural History Museum and Institute, Tohoku University, Mr. Katsumi Nishikubo and Mr. Chifune Honma, who are an amateur scientists, and Mr. Masasuke Takata, a researcher on crystal morphology, ascertained that a mineral found in Chiba Prefecture, Japan is in fact a new mineral, which they named “chibaite” (chibaseki in Japanese). Chibaite has a cage-like crystal structure consisting of silicon atoms and oxygen atoms, and methane and other molecules are enclosed in this “cage.” This crystal structure is equivalent to a structure in which the water molecules in natural gas hydrates, which have a similar cage-like structure, are replaced with silicon and oxygen. It is only the second mineral containing methane as a main component discovered in the world. The results of this research are to be published in the online edition of the English scientific journal, “Nature Communications,” at 1:00a.m. Japan time, February 16.