The volcanic material emitted by the highest volcano in Antarctica contains gold. Every day, Mount Erebus spews around 5,000 euros worth of gold, according to a study by American geologists on the continent.
Mount Erebus, the highest volcano in the world at 3,700 meters, is one of nine active volcanoes in Antarctica. With each eruption the volcano spews so-called ‘volcanic bombs’. Scientists have discovered that these rocks and molten stones emitted by the volcano contain small particles of crystallized gold.
The volcano sits on a glowing lake of lava that has been bubbling since 1972 and regularly erupts. Scientists observe the volcano’s activities through the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory operated by the United States.
They have now made a remarkable discovery: the volcano spews out about 80 grams of gold particles per day, worth more than 5,000 euros.
Metal shape
It is already known that volcanoes emit material containing gold, but it is in metal form, as at Mount Erebus has never been discovered before. The gold particles were found hundreds of kilometers away from the volcano.
Geologists have only suspicions about why this happens, reports the British scientific platform IFLscience. “The particles then have minutes or hours to grow before the gas releases them into the atmosphere. This could be a possible explanation for the phenomenon,” Philip Kyle of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro told New Scientist.
Nobody gets rich
The gold that Mount Erebus unleashes will not make anyone rich. 80 grams per day is not very much and it is too spread over a large area, says Kyle.
