Cryptic crossword clue
He pens new book to contribute on gold mineral 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word HORNBLENDE

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
O
R
N
B
L
E
N
D
E

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "mineral" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case mineral = hornblende.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does HORNBLENDE mean?

HORNBLENDE noun
  1. A green to black amphibole mineral, of complex structure, formed in the late stages of cooling in igneous rock.

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