On a volcanic island within 100 miles of the origin of the mysterious November 11 low-frequency earthquake that shook the planet, scientists have found a mountain with a significant quantity of a mineral (quartzite) that should not be found on a volcanic island.

The island is known as Anjouan or Nzwani, in the nation of the Comoros. The earthquake origin was reported as being about 15 miles from Mayotte, an adjacent island in the same island chain (but under the French government.) The distance between the islands is about 60 miles.

From the article in the NY Post:

Researchers have found rocks on a small island between Madagascar and the eastern coast of Africa, a discovery that has been described as mysterious for one very important reason — they shouldn’t be there.

The rocks in question, quartzite, were discovered by researchers at Columbia University, thanks to a grant from the National Geographic Society. They had heard about them from a number of different media reports but were finally able to confirm the presence of the quartzite, which is usually found in areas that have high temperatures and pressures, for themselves.

“This is contrary to plate tectonics,” said Cornelia Class, a geochemist at Columbia University, in a blog post. “Quartzite bodies do not belong on volcanic islands.”

The quartzite makes up one half of a mountain on Anjouan island, a 400-square-mile island that is part of the Comoros Islands.