Kryptonite discovered on earth

Rio Tinto geologists looking for borates in Serbia have discovered a previously unknown mineral that scientists say has the unique chemistry of Superman's nemesis, kryptonite.

The new mineral has been identified by scientists at London's Natural History Museum and Canada's National Research Council.

Kryptonite's devastating power is the bane of Superman stories, where exposure to its large green crystals causes the superhero to weaken. Unlike its famous counterpart, however, the new mineral is white, powdery and not radioactive.

Rio Tinto Exploration enlisted the help of mineralogist Chris Stanley at the Natural History Museum. Through his research, Stanley " who has named many new minerals in the past " revealed the true identity of the mysterious new mineral: kryptonite.

Bill Pennell of Rio Tinto Industrial Minerals said the Serbian exploration team drilled into the mineral and could not readily identify the chemistry of the core sample. They named it "jadarite' after the area in which it was found.

It was Chris who drew the parallel with kryptonite. "Towards the end of my research, I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a Metropolis museum in the film Superman Returns.

"The new mineral does not contain fluorine and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for kryptonite."

When a mineral is discovered, its chemical properties must be rigorously tested before it can be classified as new. In the case of jadarite, the sample's crystals were too small to be tested through standard techniques. The Natural History Museum called in the sophisticated analytical facilities at Canada's National Research Council (NRC) and the expertise of its researchers.

Finding the chemical composition is an exact match to an invented formula for the fictitious kryptonite "was the coincidence of a lifetime", said Yvon LePage of the NRC.

Rio Tinto's jadarite has been recognised by the International Mineralogical Association, the Commission on new Minerals and Mineral Names. The mineral will be formally named when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.