Minerals with Belgian Roots : From Hopeite (1824) to Tazieffite (2009)

Amongst the multitude of minerals that occur in nature, nearly one hundred of them are in close relation to Belgium with respect to one of the following aspects. A first group comprises minerals discovered and described in Belgium. Their names are often based on their place of discovery or are chosen in tribute to a Belgian scientist active within the field of geology. The second, and largest, group comprises minerals discovered abroad. Yet, for different reasons, these were given names referring to people who were, at least at some point in time, of Belgian nationality. Amongst them were prominent mineralogists, people who played a key role during colonial times, and various people involved in the exploration of Central Africa and the exploitation of its minerals and ores. Photographs of these 'minerals with Belgian roots' (some of which are very rare) together with biographies of those their names pay tribute to, have never been published in a book before. It was the authors' incentive to fill this apparent gap in the current literature available, yielding a unique and new perspective on the history of Belgian mineralogy.