More than 99.999% of the reserves of gold and other precious metals remain buried under 3,000 kilometers of solid rock, locked in the earth’s metallic core and beyond human reach.
However, researchers from the University of Göttingen have identified traces of the metal ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rocks in Hawaii, suggesting that its origin could be in the earth’s core.
The findings, published in Nature, reveal an unusual composition of the isotope 100Ru, present in slightly higher concentrations in the metallic core than in the earth’s mantle.
The journey of ruthenium from the core to the surface
The earth’s core, formed 4.5 billion years ago, contains metals such as gold and ruthenium, whose origin differs from the scarce content in the current mantle.
Thanks to new procedures developed by the University of Göttingen, it was possible to detect these differences, confirming that the ruthenium found in the lavas of Hawaii comes from the core-mantle boundary.
“Our data verified that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the earth’s mantle”, explained Dr. Nils Messling from the Department of Geochemistry of the German university.
The impact of the discovery on planetary geodynamics
Professor Matthias Willbold emphasized the importance of the discovery, pointing out that large volumes of overheated mantle rock (hundreds of trillions of metric tons) ascend from the core-mantle boundary, contributing to the formation of oceanic islands like Hawaii.
This raises the possibility that part of the gold and other precious metals used in key industries, such as renewable energies, come from the earth’s core, challenging its apparent isolation.
New questions about the planet’s evolution
“It remains to be demonstrated if these processes we observe today also operated in the past”, highlighted Messling.
The discovery opens up a revolutionary perspective on the internal dynamics of the Earth, allowing scientists to rethink the interaction between the core and the mantle and its impact on the distribution of mineral resources.
Cover photo: University of Göttingen
