The minerals have been named ‘elaliite’ and ‘elkinstantonite’ (Picture: University of Alberta)
A team of researchers has discovered at least two new minerals that have never before been seen on Earth in a 15-tonne meteorite.
The space rock was found in Somalia and is the ninth-largest meteorite ever found.
The two minerals found came from a single 70-gram slice that was sent to the University of Alberta for classification, and there already appears to be a potential third mineral under consideration.
‘Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what’s been found before,’ said Chris Herd, curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection.
If researchers were to obtain more samples from the massive meteorite, there’s a chance that even more might be found, Herd notes.
The two newly discovered minerals have been named elaliite and elkinstantonite.
Researchers are continuing to examine the minerals to determine what they can tell us about the conditions in the meteorite when it formed (Picture: University of Alberta)
The first receives its name from the meteorite itself, dubbed the ‘El Ali’ meteorite because it was found in near the town of El Ali, in the Hiiraan region of Somalia.
Herd named the second mineral after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator of Nasa’s upcoming Psyche mission, a journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
‘Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form, how these iron nickel cores form, and the closest analogue we have are iron meteorites. So it made sense to name a mineral after her and recognize her contributions to science,’ said Herd.
In collaboration with researchers at UCLA and the California Institute of Technology, Herd classified the El Ali meteorite as an ‘Iron, IAB complex’ meteorite, one of over 350 in that particular category.
From the very first day of analyses, researchers knew the meteorite had at least two new minerals.
‘That was phenomenal. Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral,’ said Heard.
From the very first day of analyses, researchers knew the meteorite had at least two new minerals (Picture: Global Resources)
This was possible because the two minerals had been synthetically created before, so the composition of the newly discovered natural minerals could be matched to their human-made counterparts.
Researchers are continuing to examine the minerals to determine what they can tell us about the conditions in the meteorite when it formed.
Herd also noted that any new mineral discoveries could yield exciting new uses down the line.
‘Whenever there’s a new material that’s known, material scientists are interested too because of the potential uses in a wide range of things in society,’
While the future of the meteorite remains uncertain, Herd said the researchers have received news that it appears to have been moved to China in search of a potential buyer.
It remains to be seen whether additional samples will be available for scientific purposes.
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The minerals have been named ‘elaliite’ and ‘elkinstantonite’
