A groundbreaking study of Hawaiian volcanic rocks shows that Earth's core is leaking gold and other precious metals to the surface. It's estimated that over 99.99% of the Earth's gold and precious metals, such as Ruthenium, are trapped in the metallic core, buried beneath 3,000km of solid rock, Science Alert reported. These valuable resources have been locked away since the planet's formation 4.5 billion years ago. The research has been published in Nature.
Recently, a team from the University of Gottingen conducted a study on Hawaiian volcanic rocks, employing advanced isotopic analysis techniques to detect trace elements. They found unusually high levels of a specific ruthenium isotope, which is more prevalent in the Earth's core than its mantle. This suggests that the lava material originated from deep within the planet.
"When the first results came in, we realised that we had literally struck gold! Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the Earth's mantle above," says geochemist Nils Messling of Gottingen University in Germany.
The study shows that Earth's core is less isolated than previously thought, with core material reaching the surface during volcanic eruptions, offering future research opportunities. Ruthenium isotopes could serve as a novel tracer for studying core-mantle interactions, according to the researchers. The analysis indicates that hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of superheated material from near the core-mantle boundary rise to form ocean islands like Hawaii.
Professor Matthias Willbold, co-author of the study, emphasised the significance of the findings: "Our findings not only show that Earth's core is not as isolated as previously assumed. We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material, several hundred quadrillion metric tons of rock, originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to Earth's surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii."
The study's findings ALSO suggest that some of the world's gold and precious metal supplies may have originated from the Earth's core. However, researchers are still unsure if the core-leaking process observed in the study has been a consistent phenomenon throughout the planet's history. "Our findings open up an entirely new perspective on the evolution of the inner dynamics of our home planet," the study noted.
