New minerals back idea of man-made epoch for Earth: study

Oslo

SCIENTISTS have identified more than 200 minerals created as side-effects of human industries in a sign that mankind's imprint on the Earth is so deep that it marks a new geological epoch, a study said on Wednesday.

Rare chemical combinations such as those found in mines, ore dumps or smelters have triggered the formation of new minerals, it said. One previously unknown mineral crystal, for instance, was found on a wooden pit prop deep in a nickel mine in Russia.