More than 99.999 percent of Earth’s reserves of gold and other precious metals are located beneath 3,000 kilometers of solid rock, locked within Earth’s metallic core — or so it was believed until now. Researchers from Germany have discovered this noble metal much closer than we could have imagined.
Scientists from the University of Göttingen have detected traces of the precious metal ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rocks in Hawaii, which, according to their findings, must have originated from Earth’s core. Their study was published in the journal Nature.
The Earth’s metallic core contains slightly more of the ruthenium isotope (100Ru) than the rocky mantle because it originated from a different source. These differences were previously invisible, but new research methods have made their detection possible. The high level of 100Ru found in surface lava indicates that these rocks originate from the boundary between the core and the mantle.
Valuable reserves of gold and other precious metals — which are crucial for renewable energy technologies — could, at least in part, be sourced from Earth’s core.
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These ancient geological processes open a whole new perspective in understanding the planet’s internal dynamics.
“When the first results came in, we realized we had literally struck gold! Our data confirmed that material from the core — including gold and other precious metals — is seeping into the overlying mantle,” said Nils Mesling from the Department of Geochemistry and Isotope Geology at the University of Göttingen.
Professor Matthias Willbold added that their findings not only show that the core is not as isolated as previously believed, but also prove that massive amounts of extremely hot material — hundreds of billions of tons of rock — rise from the depths to the Earth’s surface, creating oceanic islands like Hawaii.
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