The Earth’s core has begun to bring gold to the surface via volcanoes
Earth.com reports this, citing the researchers’ findings.
Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, at the very heart of the planet, processes are taking place that were previously thought impossible. According to the researchers, the Earth’s core has begun to release its reserves of gold and other precious metals.
Hidden beneath the thick crust and hot layers of the mantle lies a vast reserve of gold and ruthenium. It was previously thought that these elements were permanently locked away at a depth of around 3,000 kilometres. However, new findings suggest that some of these substances are already rising to the surface.
“When the first results came in, we realised we had literally struck gold! Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is seeping into the Earth’s mantle from above,” said Dr Niels Messling of the University of Göttingen.
Scientists have detected traces of this “gold leak” in lava in Hawaii. According to the available data, it is precisely through volcanic eruptions that metals, which have been isolated for billions of years, reach the planet’s upper layers.
Professor Matthias Willbold explained that molten rock carries valuable elements to the surface and plays a part in the formation of entire oceanic islands.
“Our results not only show that the Earth’s core is not as isolated as previously thought. We can now also prove that vast volumes of superheated mantle material—several hundred quadrillion metric tonnes of rock—originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth’s surface,” he added.
According to experts, the movement of metals occurs very slowly by human standards. At the same time, over millions of years, such a process can transport a huge amount of gold.
The article also notes that some metals currently used in smartphones and medical devices may once have been part of the Earth’s molten core.
Despite the sensational nature of the discovery, scientists caution that this does not mark the start of a new ‘gold rush’. The current flow of metals is too small to be of practical significance for mining.
Researchers view this phenomenon primarily as a unique geological process that helps us better understand how the Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago.
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