Minerals are geologic time capsules of the environments in which they form. With the right approach, their mysteries can be cracked open to reveal key features of the ancient Earth or other planets.

If every mineral tells a story, then geologists now have their equivalent of The Arabian Nights. For the first time, scientists have cataloged every different way that every known mineral can form and ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. A 15-year study led by the Carnegie Institution for Science ...

The government has declared Cobalt, Tantalum, Lithium, Coltan, Niobium, Copper and other rare earths as strategic minerals amidst an economic boom in the local and global mining sectors. In a Gazette ...

There may be 4000 more minerals in the world than previously thought, according to a new catalogue that identifies them not only by their internal make-up, but by the ways they are formed. Stefan ...

Scientists have unveiled MIST, a new algorithm that rapidly identifies minerals from chemical data. MIST streamlines exploration and mining by automating a process that was once slow and ...

This small, unassuming mineral may be older than Earth itself. Krotite reminds us of the vast timescales and surprising ...