Superman, the Action Comics Superhero, might be unhappy to hear that Kryptonite--the substance that nullifies his powers, immobilizes him with pain, and could even kill "The Man of Steel" given enough exposure--has been discovered right here on planet Earth. In a quirky twist from Mother Nature, a new mineral matching the unique chemistry of the Kryptonite, as described in the film Superman Returns, has been found in a mine in Serbia.
According to the BBC News:
Researchers from mining group Rio Tinto discovered the unusual mineral and enlisted the help of Dr Stanley when they could not match it with anything known previously to science. Once the London expert had unravelled the mineral's chemical make-up, he was shocked to discover this formula was already referenced in literature - albeit fictional literature.
"Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luthor from a museum in the film Superman Returns.
"The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite." Under international nomenclature rules, the mineral cannot be called kryptonite because it has nothing to do with krypton. Krypton is a real element in the Periodic Table. The mineral will be named Jadarite in the European Journal of Mineralogy after Jadar, the name of the place where the Serbian mine is located.