A 15-year study led by the Carnegie Institution for Science details the origins and diversity of every known mineral on Earth, a landmark body of work that will help reconstruct the history of life on ...

Water helped 80+% of mineral species to form; Biology had a direct or indirect role in ~50%; One-third formed exclusively through biological processes Pyrite (“Fool’s Gold”) formed in 21 ways -- the ...

How is a battery made? A lithium-ion battery, the most common type, starts in a mine. Miners pump lithium-rich brine out from the earth and then let the liquid sit in pools where water evaporates, ...

As the world shifts away from fossil fuels, we will need to produce enormous numbers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries. Demand for the materials needed to build them will ...