| Elkinstantonite | |
| System: | Monoclinic |
| Symmetry: | P21/c (no. 14) |
Elkinstantonite is a mineral with formula that was first generated in a laboratory in the 1980s[1] and first identified from natural origins in 2022, when the official mineral designation was also given. It is monoclinic, with space group P21/c (space group 14).[2]
Elkinstantonite was first identified in nature by scientists from the University of Alberta who were given a 70-gram piece of an ancient 15-ton El Ali meteorite that landed in Somalia and was first noticed by the international scientific community in 2020.[3] Elkinstantonite was named after NASA scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton.
The mineral was identified by Andrew Locock who is employed by the university as the head of its electron microprobe laboratory,[4] and classified by geologist Chris Herd.[5] Locock also identified the first natural specimen of elaliite in the same sample.[6]
Synthetic versions of elkinstantonite were produced in a French laboratory in the 1980s, but could not be categorised as a mineral until they were found in nature.