Not just known from Superman stories, this mineral’s unique properties could play a key role in powering Australia’s energy transition.
Kryptonite’s twin on Earth
Often referred to as “Earth’s kryptonite twin,” jadarite is a rare and intriguing mineral that has sparked interest among both scientists and Superman enthusiasts.
It was first identified in 2004 by exploration geologists working for Rio Tinto in Serbia’s Jadar Valley. While its chemical makeup closely resembles the fictional kryptonite featured in comic books, there are some notable differences. Instead of glowing green and draining superheroes of their powers, jadarite holds significant promise for supporting the global shift toward cleaner energy sources.
A new mineral on the scene
Jadarite was first encountered by Rio Tinto geologists during exploratory drilling, and at the time, it did not correspond to any known mineral. Following detailed examination by experts at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Research Council of Canada, it was officially classified as a new mineral in 2006.
Scientifically, jadarite is described as a “sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide” mineral, which happens to match the fictional label on a kryptonite sample seen in the movie Superman Returns, where Lex Luthor steals it from a museum.
Unlike the glowing green kryptonite depicted in the film, the actual mineral has the chemical formula LiNaSiB₃O₇(OH) and appears as a dull white solid. However, under ultraviolet light, it does exhibit a pinkish-orange fluorescence.
Super in its own right
Michael Page, a scientist with Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO), said that the mineral is ‘super’ in its own right.
“While lacking any supernatural powers the real jadarite has great potential as an important source of lithium and boron,” Michael said.
“In fact, the Jadar deposit where it was first discovered is considered one of the largest lithium deposits in the world, making it a potential game-changer for the global green energy transition.”
ANSTO is one of the three supporting agencies of the Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub, alongside Geoscience Australia and CSIRO, hosted by CSIRO. One of the Hub’s key missions is to better connect Australia’s R&D ecosystem, including Australian industry, to enable access and utilization of critical minerals to strengthen Australia’s value chain domestically and across the globe.
The work that ANSTO does has a significant focus on how these critical minerals, such as jadarite, can be utilized to support Australian industry in a commercial capacity.
“At ANSTO, we work with industry to develop process solutions for many critical elements including lithium, and the challenges posed by a new type of mineral resource are very exciting,” Michael said.
ANSTO has produced battery-grade lithium chemicals from many different mineral deposits, such as spodumene, lepidolite, and even jadarite, ensuring that Australian miners receive the support they need to meet the challenges of the energy transition.
Reference: “Jadarite’s unique recipe” by Francesco Putzolu, Robin N. Armstrong and Richard J. Herrington, 11 June 2025, Nature Geoscience.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-025-01705-4
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22 Comments
It’s not a matter of time to do it it’s Will to get the results of time and metal gear solid
I don’t get the connection. it’s not a crystal, not green, and doesn’t have any effect on superman. What did I miss?
The label for kryptonite in superman returns has the same molecular structure as jadarite.
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Criponite dumbass the words the meaning the energy it makes its white mineral but its going green on energy the overall spelling and meaning corresponds to cri- ocrp-inite get it slow poke
No, dummy. How are you gonna type something nonsensical and pretend anyone’s going to get it or that anyone other than you is slow because of it? It’s spelled “kryptonite”, ya goof.
Agreed!!
“Scientifically, jadarite is described as a “sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide” mineral, which happens to match the fictional label on a kryptonite sample seen in the movie Superman Returns, where Lex Luthor steals it from a museum.”
It’s an ionic bond so it has a crystal lactic structure
“Scientifically, jadarite is described as a “sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide” mineral, which happens to match the fictional label on a kryptonite sample seen in the movie Superman Returns, where Lex Luthor steals it from a museum.”
LoL, right?
useless unless the problem of Chinese government sabotage is dealt with.
How does that have anything to do with China?
Hands away from Serbian Jadarite! You want to destroy fertile land forever, displace the population that lives in the area for centuries, and forever poison Drina river, primary source of water supply for tens of thousands! Is that what they now call ecology? And all the money goes to the pockets of very few corrupt politicians. Like Rio Tinto always does.
I was going to point out the problematic nature of Rio Tinto slavering over this new vista of exploitation of people and land to which it has no intrinsic rights.
And not that I bear Australia any ill will…but what opportunity is there for Serbia and its people in this,if jadarite was originally discovered there?
Useless without the energy for the conventional vehicles that will be doing all of the transportation involved. Lower CO2 emissions to zero by 2050??? Good luck.
Silly click bait headline. A new lithium mineral, great from the perspective of mineralogists/geologists but ho hum in regard to it’s ability to change the lithium market. This Serbian locality may be good for Serbia but is a miniscule percentage of the global lithium market.
Not good for Serbia either. Only for corrupt politicians.
The original Superman comics never showed kryptonite as a crystalline material. It looked much more a green rock form of mineral.
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Lithium-based batteries are not a good solution for all-electric transition because it is highly flammable and the fire is very difficult to extinguish. Non-lithium-based solid state batteries are a much better solution as they are much less flammable, hold more charge for the same weight and thus last longer, charge faster, and promise to be less expensive. However, the solid state batteries developed to date use materials with significantly different thermal expansion properties, making them prone to internal cracking under heating and cooling cycles. It is only a matter of time before the cracking problem is solved, at which point all-electric products might become much more competitive while, at the same time, the need for expensive and highly flammable lithium is greatly diminished.