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Buried under the valley of the Jadar River in rural Serbia is a mineral that bears an uncanny resemblance to kryptonite, the fictional green crystal that weakens Superman’s powers.
More than a decade ago, a mineralogist at the Natural History Museum in London was asked by perplexed geologists from Rio Tinto to analyze this strange substance they had excavated near the Bosnian border a few years earlier.
Much to the delight of the Rio PR team, Dr. Chris Stanley that the chemical compound – sodium-lithium-boron-silicate-hydroxide – matched the description of kryptonite used by Superman’s archenemy Lex Luthor in the 2006 film “Superman Returns.”
Going green: The chemical compound of jadarite (right) corresponds to the description of kryptonite by Superman’s archenemy Lex Luther
The big difference – aside from the fact that they’re not cartoon hoodies – is that this mineral is white and was found in gray clumps of rock.
It’s called Jadarite and it appears to be the next big donor to Rio Tinto trying to capitalize on the global electric car revolution as internal combustion engines are replaced with batteries.
Rio discovered jadarite back in 2004 and has placed a £ 1.7 billion bet on mining the little-known substance.
Jadarite, which Rio named after the Jadar Valley in western Serbia, is a unique high-quality mineral compound made from lithium and borates that has not been found anywhere else in the world.
Borates are crystallized salts containing boron that are used in fertilizers and heat-resistant glass for smartphones, as well as in materials for wind farms and solar panels.
Lithium is of course a key component in lithium-ion electric car batteries.
Over the past few years, Rio’s scientists have been working in a laboratory in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, trying to find out how to process this compound into lithium and borates economically and to scale.
After Rio “cracked the code” according to Rio, all it takes now is a mine to dig it out of the ground.
The miner has already allocated £ 1.7 billion for a site near the Jadar River that is set to become Europe’s largest supplier of lithium for at least the next 15 years.
It is currently awaiting approval from the Serbian government to start construction and is negotiating with a local farmer to buy a few hundred fields on the 400 hectare site.
Jadarite – discovered by mining giant Rio Tinto in Siberia, has many similarities to kryptonite, the fictional green crystal that weakens Superman’s powers
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