# Elkinstantonite

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{{Short description|Mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name = Elkinstantonite
| formula     = {{chem2|Fe4(PO4)2O}}
| system      = [Monoclinic](/source/Monoclinic)
| symmetry    = P2<sub>1</sub>''/c'' (no. 14)
}}

'''Elkinstantonite''' {{IPAc-en|,|E|l|k|I|n|z|'|t|ae|n|t|@|n|ai|t}} is a [mineral](/source/mineral) with formula {{chem2|Fe4(PO4)2O}} that was first generated in a laboratory in the 1980s<ref>	Bouchdoug, M. et al."Preparation et etude d'un oxyphosphate Fe<sub>4</sub>(PO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub>O".  J. Solid State Chem. (1982) 42, p. 149-157  [https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4596(82)90261-4 10.1016/0022-4596(82)90261-4] </ref> and first identified from natural origins in 2022, when the official mineral designation was also given. It is [monoclinic](/source/monoclinic), with [space group](/source/space_group) P2<sub>1</sub>''/c'' (space group 14).<ref>{{cite web |date=Nov 21, 2022|last1=Chris Herd |title=The El Ali Meteorite: Ancient History and New Minerals |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/institute-for-space-science-exploration-and-technology/media-library/symposium2022-videos/herd.mp4}}, talk given at the Space Exploration Symposium 2022, [University of Alberta](/source/University_of_Alberta).</ref>

== History ==
Elkinstantonite was first identified in nature by scientists from the [University of Alberta](/source/University_of_Alberta) who were given a 70-gram piece of an ancient 15-ton [El Ali meteorite](/source/El_Ali_meteorite) that landed in [Somalia](/source/Somalia) and was first noticed by the international scientific community in 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2022-11-29 |title=Somalia meteorite: Joy as scientists find two new minerals |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63800879 |access-date=2022-11-29}}</ref> Elkinstantonite was named after [NASA](/source/NASA) scientist [Lindy Elkins-Tanton](/source/Lindy_Elkins-Tanton).<ref name=":0" />

The mineral was identified by Andrew Locock who is employed by the university as the head of its [electron microprobe](/source/electron_microprobe) laboratory,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=In meteorite, Alberta researchers discover 2 minerals never before seen on Earth {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9309682/alberta-2-new-minerals-meteorite-somalia/ |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref> and classified by geologist Chris Herd.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U of A scientists help identify two new minerals found in 'curious' meteorite |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/u-of-a-scientists-help-identify-two-new-minerals-found-in-curious-meteorite |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=edmontonjournal |language=en-CA}}</ref> Locock also identified the first natural specimen of [elaliite](/source/elaliite) in the same sample.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-29 |title=Researchers discover two new minerals on meteorite grounded in Somalia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/29/researchers-discover-two-new-minerals-on-meteorite-grounded-in-somalia |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Meteorite minerals
Category:Iron(II) minerals
Category:Minerals in space group 13

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elkinstantonite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkinstantonite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkinstantonite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.