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A mineral, which was
recently found in Barberton, South Africa, has been
named after University of Free State (UFS) professor,
Prof Marian Tredoux, by the International Mineralogical
Association. The naming is a rare honour,
shared by less than 700 people in the world ¡K making
Prof. Tredoux one in 10 million.
The mineral ¡V which contains nickel, antimony and oxygen
¡V has been named Tredouxite.
So far, only a dozen of the 5 292 named minerals have
been named after South Africans, and only two others
were named after women.
"With the exception of a few historical (pre-1800)
names, a mineral is typically named either after the
area where it was first found, or after its chemical
composition or physical properties, or after a person.
If named after a person, it has to be someone who had
nothing to do with finding the mineral," says the
Geological Society of South Africa.
The naming of Prof. Tredoux, an associate professor at
UFS in the Geology Department, is to acknowledge her
close to 30 years' commitment to figuring out the
geological history of the rock in which this mineral
occurs.
The group who found ¡V and named ¡V the new mineral
included professors from Austria, Italy and the UFS.
They found the mineral in the rock in the Barberton
region in Mpumalanga, in May 2017.
Only 81 women in the world have had a mineral named
after them, of which Marie Curie was one.
Prof. Tredoux said: "Marie Curie is named twice:
sklodowskite (herself) and curite (plus husband). Most
of the named women are Russian geoscientists."
Prof. Tredoux said she hoped the announcement of this
mineral would increase interest in her department and
university, by highlighting the world-class research
that was being conducted by the Department of Geology at
UFS. ¡V Source:
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