There's a mineral so rare that only one specimen of it has ever been found in the entire world. It's called kyawthuite (cha-too-ite), a tiny, tawny-hued grain weighing just a third of a gram (1.61 ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth.

Most human eyes have seen the mystical beauty of quartz, possibly without knowing it is the most common mineral on Earth, but which is the rarest? Minerals are scattered everywhere on our planet, from ...

Did you know that some minerals are so rare, they’ve only been discovered once? Surprised? Well, it’s true! Kyawthuite is one ...

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Diamonds and emeralds might dominate the limelight, but there exists a world of gemstones so rare and valuable that they are the stuff of legends. What exactly makes a gemstone rare and valuable? It's ...