The following is quite remarkable, especially when you frame it in our base of knowledge here with more openness and deeper understanding of the crust and beyond. While the pressure and temperature can highly modify the expected reactions, I cannot help but think other things could still be at play beyond simple (or rather traditional) chemistry... It would be interesting to learn more - either way:
Backup of the content for posterity:
That's fascinating - but it sucks, big time, that mining companies want to mine them. If they do, they'll probably wipe them out. 
I think the big problem we have is the limitation of science holistically. Presently we have this omnipresent ignorance that pervades society which leads to problems precisely like this. 
The following might be controversial for some, but if you feel this way, I'd invite you: please engage me in conversation and let's chitchat about what I see and present here instead of being closed minded.
If you review highly socialist-communist-centric news sources and commentary, they blame everything on the greed and problems of "capitalism". I looked at some commentary on this news article when I saw it on a highly tech-centric news outlet. I was dumbstruck by the absurd - and maybe willful - ignorance... and resultant echo chamber.
@Soretna you and others have said similar things before and I agree: What we're seeing is a desired dichotomy that the global powers want to exist (cavern worlders? probably, there are too many alignments with China and other "super powers" and "deep states") and by extension the ongoing obfuscation of science and the true nature of the world and existence help propagate their manipulative narratives.
So now comes the punchline for this topic:
Current tech's reliant on limited chemistry and physics teachings. The push for rare earth and alkali metal reservoirs (mining) to make batteries and all manner of other technology's an outgrowth of this ignorance ---- THEIR manipulation!
If we could OR would allow the true nature of existence such as the aether that Einstein himself acknowledging that his own theory needed and didn't work right because of its removal...... and by extrapolation the entirety of physics and the modeling of physics as it now stands (not talking to the empirical data that can be fit to other models), then there'd be a completely different perspective.
We wouldn't need to RAPE the Earth for resources because we would be able to get all of the electric from other sources. But they WANT the pillaging of the Earth to continue in order to create this civil war like atmosphere where there are many divisions and tribes within society.
These monsters are evil and when we boil it all down to simplified topics of "saving the Earth" vs "prospering humanity" OR EVEN SIMILAR DICHOTOMIES it is simply wrong and EVIL!!!
They are using "the science" and "the medicine" and "the facts" to lie and cheat and still and KILL everyone - with their own blessings because of this ignorance!
Fascinating one @Soretna , @Western0bserver , @SilverMoon . This find has LOT of implications for the science of chemistry , for sure !
Regards
