Volcanoes rank among the most destructive and awe-inspiring phenomena on the planet. But these fiery fissures do much more than just destroy. They also create. In a new study, researchers in Russia report the discovery of one such creation – an unusual mineral never before documented by scientists: an alluring, vibrantly blue-and-green crystallised substance the team have called petrovite . The mineral was found in the volcanic landscape of Russia's far east, atop the Tolbachik volcano in the Kamchatka Peninsula . Blue cryptocrystalline crusts of petrovite. (Filatov et al., Mineralogical Magazine, 2020) Tolbachik's eruptive history traces back thousands of years, but in recent times, two notable events stand out: the 'Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption' of 1975–1976, and a second, lesser follow-up that took place between 2012–2013. The force of eruptions during the first event tore numerous cinder cones in the volcanic complex, opening up rocky terrai