Unveiling the Gold Nugget Paradox: How Earthquakes Are Shaping Our Understanding of Gold Discovery

The latest research reveals an intriguing connection between earthquakes and the formation of gold nuggets. In 2024, mines extracted about 3,661 tons of gold from the Earth. However, understanding how large nuggets form has been a mystery—until now.

Dr. Christopher Voisey, a geochemist at Monash University in Melbourne, suggests that earthquakes might hold the key. His team proposes that seismic activity helps create sizable gold nuggets through unique processes that involve quartz—a key mineral found in the Earth’s crust.

Gold is primarily found in quartz fractures, which represent about 75% of all gold mined. The challenge has been explaining how so much gold can exist when it’s usually present in tiny amounts in water. Voisey’s research shows that during an earthquake, quartz can act like a tiny battery. When squeezed, it generates electric fields that attract charged gold complexes from surrounding fluids. These gold ions quickly gather and bond together, forming larger nuggets.

This process begins when an earthquake generates pressure that bends quartz crystals—producing electrical potentials. Although the resulting voltage is fleeting, it lasts long enough for gold ions to come together and form "seeds." Over thousands of seismic events, these seeds can grow into nuggets weighing up to ten kilograms, all without needing massive amounts of water.

Dr. Taija Torvela, a structural geologist at the University of Leeds, finds this concept fascinating. It explains why many quartz veins seem barren until stress cycles build up over time.

To validate this theory, the research team conducted lab experiments. They placed quartz blocks in gold-rich fluids and simulated earthquake-like shocks. Within minutes, they observed gold nanoparticles clustering on the quartz surfaces. This finding confirmed that electric fields could effectively reduce ionic gold to solid form.

Now, this discovery could change how gold is explored and mined. Geophysicists are testing new methods to locate faults that frequently produce these electric bursts. Mining engineers are curious if they can use controlled vibrations to coax gold from low-grade veins.

As teams prepare to drill in seismically active areas, they’re looking to establish connections between their findings and real-world faults. They also hope to explore whether other precious metals like silver and platinum behave similarly in these environments.

This work highlights a fascinating interplay between Earth’s movements and its mineral wealth, suggesting that these dynamic forces have shaped gold formation over millions of years. There’s even speculation that this process could apply to other planets with similar seismic activity, like Mars or Europa.

For more details, the study is available in Nature Geoscience.

To read more about the fascinating world of geology, check out this detailed article.

Source link