A massive meteorite discovered in Somalia in 2020 has hidden what researchers are calling a “phenomenal” discovery: two new minerals, and potentially a third, never before seen on Earth.
The minerals were discovered from a 70-gram slice of the 15.2-ton “El Ali” meteorite that was known to locals for five to seven generations but was only officially discovered two years ago. University of Alberta researchers analyzed the slice to find two minerals: one named elaliite after the meteorite and the other named elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, vice president of the Interplanetary Initiative at Arizona State University and principal investigator from NASA’s Psyche mission.
There is also potential for a third newly discovered mineral, the University of Alberta said in a news release, and more may be found.
University of Alberta professor and meteorite collection curator Chris Herd helped make the identification, along with Andrew Locock, head of the university’s electron microprobe laboratory.
“The first day he did some analysis, he said, ‘You’ve got at least two new minerals,'” Herd said in a news release. “That was phenomenal. Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral.”
And it’s all a happy accident. Herd said in a presentation of the findings at the Space Exploration Symposium last week that they “stumbled upon” the new minerals.
“We didn’t go in looking for new minerals, we just found them,” he said.
This easy identification was possible because of the man-made versions that match the compositions. Now, research on these minerals will continue, and with the hope that their discovery can lead to new uses in the scientific and everyday world.
“That’s my experience: How do you explain the geological processes and the geological history of the asteroid that this rock was part of,” Herd said. “I never thought I would be involved in describing new minerals just by virtue of working on a meteorite.”
However, work on the meteorite can be reserved for the single sample they acquired. Herd said the rest of the meteorite may have been taken to China for sale, and it’s unclear whether researchers will be able to obtain more samples.
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Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending reporter for CBS News, focusing on social justice issues.