Human Caused Explosion in Mineral Diversity

This is an interesting read about how the affect of humans using things on this planet to make new things is causing new minerals to come into existence.

An Explosion of Never-Before-Seen Minerals
Could Mark The Dawn of a New Geological Epoch

Examples:

chalconatronite, a rare copper mineral that crystallises as a bright blue crust on ancient Egyptian bronze artefacts, and andersonite, a uranium-laced mineral with a fluorescent green or yellow glow that forms on the walls of mine tunnels.

This is a fascinating quick read

“Simply put, we live in an era of unparalleled inorganic compound diversification. Indeed, if the Great Oxidation eons ago was a ‘punctuation event’ in Earth’s history, the rapid and extensive geological impact of the Anthropocene is an exclamation mark.”

The featured image is Simonkolleite. This mineral is a rare secondary mineral formed by weathering of zinc-bearing slag. Slag is the glass-like by-product left over after a desired metal has been separated (i.e., smelted) from its raw ore.

 

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Loren Nason

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