By Biodun Busari

On Saturday, there was a report that ‘electrically charged stones’ were discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By this report, the stones are referred to as vibranium.

However, vibranium is an imaginary stone. It is a fictional metal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

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According to Marvel Comics, vibranium has surprising abilities to absorb, store and release large amounts of kinetic energy.

Vanguard noted that while DRC is endowed with mineral wealth such as coltan, cobalt, copper, gold, and tin among others; the discovery of vibranium is imaginary. 

In light of this, the so-called “electrically charged stones” could have been coltan, cobalt, or any other precious stone that could be found in the Central African country.

Things to know about fictional “electrically charged stones” called “vibranium” are given below:

1. Vibranium first appeared in series 13 of Daredevil, a comic book published by Marvel Comics which debuted in 1964.

2. In the book, vibranium was seen as an unusual metallic component with distinctly strange properties.

3. It was introduced to be known as Anti-Metal but Anti-Metal can conventionally be found only in Antarctica. 

4. Later in 1966, according to Fantastic Four series 53, a new variation of vibranium was discovered in the isolated nation of Wakanda.

5. In the Marvel Universe, vibranium was first deposited on Earth by a meteorite 10,000 years ago.

6. Vibranium also appeared in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode “The X-Men Adventure.”

7. In music, Vibranium is also referenced in the 2019 single Take Me Back to London by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy in verse 3 in 2019.