Earth mineralogical diversity

Life is perhaps the most dramatic example of chemical complexification, but the evolution of the mineral world represents an important precursor to life s origins. Earth today boasts almost 4300 known types of minerals, with as many as 50 new species recognized each year. Yet the mineralogical diversity now found at or near Earth s surface (< 3 km) was not present for much of the planet s history. Indeed, both the variety and relative abundances of near-surface minerals have evolved dramatically over 4.5 billion years of Earth history through a variety of physical, chemical and biological processes. 

Silicon is, after oxygen, the most abundant elenient in the earth s crust, which explains why soil, rocks, clay and sand are almost entirely made of silicates which include most metallic elements in extraordinarily diverse one-, two- or three-dimensional crystalline structures. Aluminosilicates are an important class of materials owing to their properties and their importance in geology, mineralogy, agronomy, ceramic science, catalysis and many industrial appplications. 

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