The origin of gold on Earth

New research by scientists reveals precious metals are pushed to the surface of the Earth from the deepest areas of the planet.

An international team of researchers found evidence in the Patagonia region of South America that demonstrated deep movements in the Earth contributing to gold on the surface, according to the International Business Times. The research results are published in Nature Communications on October 10.

"The minerals we are mining are in the crust," said researcher José María González of the University of Granada, Spain. "And despite being experts in use, we know very little about their true origin. The process of finding gold has prompted migration, exploration and even war, but its origin. is still an open question ".

Gold Mine in Sovereign, Victoria State, Australia.(Photo: Flickr).

The Earth is divided into three main layers including the mantle, mantle and core layer. The mantle layer starts at a depth of about 17km below the ocean and 70km below the continents."This depth is beyond the reach of humans, because we do not have the means to go to the mantle and therefore cannot learn more about it directly," González said.

However, deep mantle materials can reach the crust through volcanic eruptions. Eruptions carry small pieces called "xenolith" . The team found gold particles as small as the thickness of a hair inside the xenolith.

Research scientists in the Deseado Massif area of ​​Patagonia, where the density is high. They can determine why gold mines are only distributed in some areas of the Earth. They hypothesized that the mantle beneath Deseado Massif tended to produce surface gold deposits, a result of geological history.

"The history of the region started 200 million years ago, when Africa and South America were on the same continent. The separation of the two places was the result of the uplifting of the mantle column from deep mantle. Breaking the crust is thinner and easier to crack, leading to the separation of the two continents, the rise of the mantle column makes the metal richer mantle, facilitating the formation of gold mines , " González explained.

Previously, researchers believed that mineral deposits were derived from the Earth's crust instead of the mantle as concluded in the new study.