I was working on a new mineral the other day and spotted an interesting question raised shared by various sources.
Tredouxite (IMA approved pending publication) is named for professor Marian Tredoux in the Department of Geology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
According to write ups, out of nearly 5.3K minerals, around 700 have been named after people; however tredouxite is only the 81st mineral to be named after a female.
Of course there are plenty of reasons why this disparity has arisen, however in these days of rightful gender equality it does stand out - there are plenty of women who make essential and valid contributions to science in general and mineralogy/earthsciences in particular.
Maybe as the 21st century progresses we will see new mineral naming after people begin to balance across the genders.
Tredouxite itself is the nickel analogue of byströmite, and sits in the byströmite group, along side byströmite and ordoñezite.
It is an oxide of nickel and antimony combined and was discovered in material from the Bon Accord Deposit, Barberton, Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
Professor Tredoux has been researching this deposit, hence the name choice.
