Abstract
Abstract In 2022–2026, during the study of quartz pebbles from the Taqyr-Qalzhir deposit (Eastern Kazakhstan), an atypical type of platinum-group mineralization was identified. Platinum-group metals (Ir, Os, Pt, Pd) and associated components are present predominantly not as macrograins of host minerals, but as a nanoscale metal-bearing subsystem distributed throughout the quartz volume. Given the scale of the deposit (inferred resources of ∼1 billion tons), this points to the existence of a previously unrecognized class of natural nanostructured systems with potentially widespread occurrence. The totality of structural and physical data indicates the formation within the quartz matrix of a three-dimensional percolation network of conducting centers, separated by dielectric gaps of SiO₂ and connected by interfacial barriers of Fe–S-containing nature. Magnetic measurements identify the barriers as superparamagnetic nanoparticles of greigite (Fe₃S₄) with a blocking temperature of ∼250 K. The network is revealed by several independent approaches: (i) electrohydraulic fracturing as a “dynamic probe” of hidden conducting pathways; (ii) impedance spectroscopy; (iii) magnetic measurements; (iv) selective removal of quartz by fluorination, allowing the solid residue — the “skeleton” of the metal-bearing structure — to be obtained and investigated. The key feature of the dielectric response is a loss maximum in the frequency range of ∼100 kHz. Analysis of three samples from a single pebble revealed variations in resonance frequency (92135 kHz) and relaxation time (1.2–1.7 µs), caused by sub-angstrom fluctuations in tunnel barrier thickness (∼0.5 Å changes the resistance by a factor of 1.5). The observed tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of up to 100% at room temperature, including opposite signs of the effect, confirms the spin-dependent nature of transport through greigite barriers. A quantum capacitance was discovered, manifesting in a characteristic recharging charge q ≈ 3.3e, consistent with three independent estimates (geometric, experimental, and quantumstatistical). The high quality factor of the resonance (Q ∼ 57–135) indicates a narrow distribution of relaxation times and a collective coherent character of the spin ensemble dynamics. Thus, the quartz pebbles of Taqyr-Qalzhir represent a natural quantum register — a threedimensional percolation network of PGM nanoclusters connected by spin-dependent tunneling junctions, demonstrating quantum behavior at room temperature. This shifts the problem of “invisible” PGM from the realm of a geochemical enigma to the domain of exploration, mapping, and technological development of a fundamentally new type of mineral resource for quantum technologies, spintronics, and catalysis.