Kryptonite Discovered in Serbian Mine

It doesn't glow green, but an unidentified mineral discovered in a Serbian mine matches the molecular composition of Kryptonite described in the movie Superman Returns. When minerologists tried to find other substances that matched the white, grainy rock they found in a mine near the Serbian region of Jadar, they came up with nothing -- until they searched the Web. According to British Natural History Museum minerologist Chris Stanley:

Towards the end of my research I searched the webusing the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicatehydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name,
written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Lutherfrom a museum in the film Superman Returns.

The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which itdoes in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all otherrespects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite.

Hooray for the internet and all that. Sadly, the newly-discovered mineral can't be named Kryptonite, as there is already an element in the periodic table called Krypton. It will be named Jadarite, after the region where it was discovered.

Kryptonite Discovered [via BBC News] Thanks, Sacha!