Minerals came about from the beginning of it all when there were no signs of life on the planet yet. Mineral evolution tells us about the evolving chapters of this discovery. Due to planets physical, chemical and biological changes new mineral species are brought to scientist attention leading us to new information.

(Hazen RM, Papineau D, Bleeker W, Downs RT, Ferry F, McCoy T, Sverjensky D, Yang H (2008) Mineral evolution. American Mineralogist 93:1693-1720)

This event is known to be a physical theory describing how the universe expanded from high density and temperature. The extremely dense point exploded creating matter and turning it outward spitting out galaxies and our universe. The cosmic inflation lasted fractions of seconds. A flood of matter and radiation is what populated the universe such as particles, atoms and everything that would eventually become the stars and galaxies! Once the universe began just seconds this spiraled of the high temperatures to the cosmos. With current research of 2021 studies are conducting to compare how gravitational forces interact in the primordial universe.

After the big bang the first generation of atoms was mostly gases. The stars carried heavier elements including carbon, oxygen, silicon, and magnesium. The conclusion to this was the first mineral being a diamond consisting of pure carbon condensed from the atmosphere of the energetic stars. No crystals formed in the first stars but stars do produce heavier elements including mineral forming atoms like carbon. There are 10 stages of mineral evolution including: 1. Minerals occur in the chondrite meteorites. 2. Pallasite meteorite coexisting with olivine crystals and metals. 3. Planetary differentiation into metallic core, silicate mantle, volcanic-derived basalt crust. 4. Earths first extensive terrains of granite. 5. Plate tectonics 6. Biology process affect mineralogy. 7. Great oxidation event. 8. Production of banded iron forms ceased abruptly. 9. Snowball Earth, Ice was most abundant. 10. Most recent mineral evolution.

(Hazen RM, Papineau D, Bleeker W, Downs RT, Ferry F, McCoy T, Sverjensky D, Yang H (2008) Mineral evolution. American Mineralogist 93:1693-1720)