LOCATION: Shunga, Russia

MOHS: 3.5-4

Shungite might not be the prettiest mineral out there, but these unassuming gray rocks are way more special than they look. See, these chunks of mostly-carbon are some of the oldest fossils that we have on Earth. They formed roughly 2 billion years ago and are the remains of microbial life from ancient, shallow seas, and could help researchers understand one of the first mass extinctions that ever happened.

But it’s not just about the past. Shungite has some properties that could make it revolutionary in all kinds of industrial applications. Since it’s made of almost pure carbon, it has potential to be used anywhere that we need high-purity carbon. So not only are these rocks a key to understanding the ancient past, they could also help catapult technology into the future.