Eur. J. Mineral. – 2019, 31, 755 774 To Christian Chopin, Published online 6 June 2019 for 30 years of dedicated service to EJM Lithium mineral evolution and ecology: comparison with boron and beryllium Edward S. GREW1,*, Grete HYSTAD2, Myriam P. C. TOAPANTA2, Ahmed ELEISH3, Alexandra OSTROVERKHOVA4, Joshua GOLDEN5 and Robert M. HAZEN6 1School of Earth and Climate Sciences, 5790 Bryand Global Sciences Center, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5790, USA *Corresponding author, e-mail:
[email protected] 2Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN 46323, USA 3Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA 4Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Parkinson, Mail Code 4324, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA 5Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0077, USA 6Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA Abstract: The idea that the mineralogical diversity now found at or near Earth’s surface was not present for much of the Earth’s history is the essence of mineral evolution, and the geological histories of the 118 Li, 120 Be, and 296 B minerals are not exceptions. Present crustal concentrations are generally too low for Li, Be, and B minerals to form (except tourmaline); this requires further enrichment by 1–2 orders of magnitude by processes such as partial melting and mobilization of fluids. As a result, minerals containing essential Li and Be are first reported in the geologic record at 3.0–3.1 Ga, later than Li-free tourmaline at 3.6 Ga.