Superman beware: Rio Tinto discovers "kryptonite"
Rio Tinto geologists looking for borates in Serbia have discovered a previously unknown mineral that scientists say has the unique chemistry of Superman's nemesis, kryptonite.
In April 2007, the new mineral - as described in the film Superman Returns - was identified by scientists at London's Natural History Museum and Canada's National Research Council .
Kryptonite's power is the bane of Superman stories, where exposure to its large green crystals causes the superhero to weaken. Unlike its famous counterpart however, the new mineral is white, powdery and not radioactive.
To identify what they had found exploration manager Bob Kellie of Rio Tinto Minerals enlisted the help of Rio Tinto's technical laboratory in Bristol. Senior mineralogist Chris Blake said: "We were sent a sample of the material and I soon recognised it as a new mineral. I recommended that the material be sent to the Natural History Museum for full academic characterisation and naming."
The Rio Tinto exploration team that made the discovery suggested the name "jadarite" derived from the Jadar River.
Chris Stanley, a leading mineralogist at the Natural History Museum, studied the mineral, confirmed the name jadarite and drew the parallel with kryptonite. He explained: "Towards the end of my research, I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a Metropolis museum in the film Superman Returns.
"The new mineral does not contain fluorine and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for kryptonite. We will have to be careful with it - we wouldn't want to deprive Earth of its most famous superhero!"
When a new mineral is discovered, its chemical properties must be rigorously tested before it can be classified as new. In the case of jadarite, the sample's crystals were too small to be tested through standard techniques. The Natural History Museum called in the sophisticated analytical facilities at Canada's National Research Council (NRC) and the expertise of its researchers.
Finding the chemical composition is an exact match to an invented formula for the fictitious kryptonite, "was the coincidence of a lifetime," said Yvon LePage of the NRC.
Jadarite has been recognised by the International Mineralogical Association, the Commission on new Minerals and Mineral Names. The mineral will be formally named when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.
In April 2007, the new mineral - as described in the film Superman Returns - was identified by scientists at London's Natural History Museum and Canada's National Research Council .
Kryptonite's power is the bane of Superman stories, where exposure to its large green crystals causes the superhero to weaken. Unlike its famous counterpart however, the new mineral is white, powdery and not radioactive.
To identify what they had found exploration manager Bob Kellie of Rio Tinto Minerals enlisted the help of Rio Tinto's technical laboratory in Bristol. Senior mineralogist Chris Blake said: "We were sent a sample of the material and I soon recognised it as a new mineral. I recommended that the material be sent to the Natural History Museum for full academic characterisation and naming."
The Rio Tinto exploration team that made the discovery suggested the name "jadarite" derived from the Jadar River.
Chris Stanley, a leading mineralogist at the Natural History Museum, studied the mineral, confirmed the name jadarite and drew the parallel with kryptonite. He explained: "Towards the end of my research, I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a Metropolis museum in the film Superman Returns.
"The new mineral does not contain fluorine and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for kryptonite. We will have to be careful with it - we wouldn't want to deprive Earth of its most famous superhero!"
When a new mineral is discovered, its chemical properties must be rigorously tested before it can be classified as new. In the case of jadarite, the sample's crystals were too small to be tested through standard techniques. The Natural History Museum called in the sophisticated analytical facilities at Canada's National Research Council (NRC) and the expertise of its researchers.
Finding the chemical composition is an exact match to an invented formula for the fictitious kryptonite, "was the coincidence of a lifetime," said Yvon LePage of the NRC.
Jadarite has been recognised by the International Mineralogical Association, the Commission on new Minerals and Mineral Names. The mineral will be formally named when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.
Labels: diamond, jadarite, kryptonite, minerals, nrc, rio tinto, superman
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