The world's rarest minerals

Nevadaite is formed under very restricted environmental conditions from scarce elements: vanadium and copper. The crystals are colourful but microscopic, and the mineral is only known from just two locations: Eureka County, Nevada, and a copper mine in Kyrgyzstan. Photos: ROBERT DOWNS/University of Nevada

Scientists have inventoried and categorised all of Earth’s rare mineral species described to date, each sampled from five or fewer sites around the globe. Individually, several of the species have a known supply worldwide smaller than a sugar cube.

These 2,550 minerals are far more rare than pricey diamonds and gems. But while their rarity would logically make them the most precious of minerals, many would not work in a wedding ring setting. Several are prone to melt, evaporate or dehydrate. And a few, vampire-like, gradually decompose on exposure to sunlight.