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96

January/February 2018^ DISCOVER^89

RRUFF (5)

Human-Caused Minerals

Make Case for New Epoch

❯ 

OF THE WORLD’S 5,000-

PLUS MINERALS, 208 are

unique: They’re the result

of human activities. Without

us, geologists discovered, they

wouldn’t exist.

To be a mineral, a compound

must be inorganic, chemically

distinct and naturally occurring.

So these stretch the definition a

bit, though technically they could

have occurred naturally — we just

happened to tip the scales.

Most minerals on the newly

compiled list come from mine

tunnels and slag heaps, where

byproducts of the industry mingle

in unconventional ways. Others,

however, were found in a shipwreck

and even a museum cabinet, again

representing situations that betray

the hand of humanity.

The list, published in March in

American Mineralogist, adds more

evidence for the Anthropocene,

the “age of humans.” New

minerals are appearing much

faster than ever before, and the

authors say it’s a sign of how

much we’ve rearranged and

recombined Earth’s surface.

Even the rocks are different now.

 NATHANIEL SCHARPING

1 2

5 4 3

1. Simonkolleite, found
   in an Arizona copper mine.


2. Nealite, recovered from
   an ancient Greek seaside
   slag site. 3. Chalconatronite,
   formed at a quarry in Quebec.


3. Abhurite, discovered
   at an English shipwreck.


4. Metamunirite, from
   a mine in Colorado.