This year, a Sino-foreign research team led by Researcher Yang Hexiong from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Arizona in the United States and Professor Gu Xiangping from the School of Gem and Mineral Resources at Jiangxi Institute of Applied Technology in China has discovered a brand-new potassium molybdate mineral in the uranium-molybdenum deposit in the town of Marysvale, Utah, USA. To recognize the outstanding contributions made by Chinese mineralogist and professor at North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Cui Yunhao, in the field of mineralogy, the research team has named this new mineral “Yunhao Molybdenite.” Recently, this new mineral has officially been approved by the New Minerals Nomenclature and Classification Committee of the International Mineralogical Association.

The chemical formula of Yunhao molybdate is K2(MoO4). It belongs to the monoclinic crystal system, and its crystal forms are blade-like, leaf-like, or columnar. The largest single crystal measures only 0.60 × 0.10 × 0.06 millimeters and requires specialized equipment for observation. Its physical properties include being colorless or white in appearance, leaving a white streak, exhibiting a vitreous luster, and being transparent. Its hardness ranges from 1.5 to 2, it is brittle and easily fractured, and it shows no fluorescence. At room temperature, it is soluble in water, hydrochloric acid, certain organic liquids (such as xylene and ethanol), and refractive-index liquids.

As an important natural carrier of molybdenum, the discovery of the Yunhao molybdenum deposit holds significant strategic importance. Molybdenum is globally recognized as a critical strategic metal, widely used in high-end manufacturing, new energy, national defense, and other key sectors. It is also a strategic mineral resource that China strictly controls for export. Potassium molybdate, as a versatile molybdenum compound, finds applications across multiple fields: In industry, it serves as a core component of molybdenum-containing polyoxometalates and can be used to prepare catalysts for surface catalysis, chemical analysis, biochemistry, and clinical medicine; in agriculture, as a micronutrient foliar fertilizer, it promotes nitrogen fixation by rhizobia in leguminous plants, enhances pod development, and helps prevent diseases such as bacterial wilt and rust, thereby boosting yields of crops like peanuts and alfalfa. In scientific research and materials science, high-purity potassium molybdate is an essential analytical reagent and can also be used to synthesize novel materials with special properties, including ceramics, glass, and electronic materials.

Industry experts point out that the discovery of the Yunhao molybdenum deposit provides a “golden key” for developing natural K₂(MoO₄) mineral resources. This breakthrough is expected to further enrich China’s strategic mineral resource reserve system, offer more diversified raw material options for related industrial sectors, and potentially reduce reliance on synthetically produced molybdenum compounds for high-end applications.

Professor Cui Yunhao, a senior scholar in China’s mineralogy field and an expert in the history of modern and contemporary Chinese mineralogy, graduated in 1967 from the Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry Department of the China University of Geosciences (formerly the Beijing College of Geology). Since then, he has long been engaged in teaching and research in mineralogy and petrology at North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power. He has published several monographs, including “Techniques and Theoretical Foundations of Mineral and Rock Thin Sections,” “A History of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Mineralogy (1640–1949),” and “Etymologies of Mineral Names,” as well as more than 50 scholarly papers on mineralogy. Among these works, “A History of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Mineralogy” is acclaimed as a groundbreaking contribution that fills a significant gap in the history of Chinese mineralogy and holds profound academic significance.