Earth Has a Lot of Different Minerals — But Only a Finite Supply

Last year, scientists announced the discovery of two new minerals: elaliite and elkinstantonite. These were fascinating finds, perhaps even more so because they came from a 15-ton meteorite that had hurtled through space to crash down in Somalia. While there are currently nearly 6,000 mineral species recognized by the International Mineralogical Association, Robert Hazen, a mineralogist at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory and George Mason University, says there are an esti