Research, Technology

Australia's trees contain gold. How is this possible?

Since ancient times, gold has been considered one of the mostvaluable metals. Previously, it was mainly used to make jewelry, but today this material is also used in the production of electronics. According to 2020 data, about 10% of all gold mined in the world is used in industry, and the rest is equally distributed between government reserves and jewelry. Mining gold is becoming increasingly difficult for people, so scientists are constantly looking for new ways to find it in the depths of the Earth. Recently, researchers were surprised to find that gold particles are found in the leaves of the eucalyptus tree, which grows in Australia. We can say that in the homeland of kangaroos and dangerous spiders, the precious metal grows right on the trees. But how is this possible?

Scientists have found gold particles in the most unexpected place - eucalyptus leaves

Each country has its own gold reserve. You can read about which state has the most gold and why they choose this particular metal in our article “How much gold the richest countries have, where they store it and why they need it.”

Eucalyptus leaves contain gold

About what's on the leaves of Australian treescontains particles of gold, scientists learned in 2013 - this was written in the scientific journal Nature Communications. At the time, researchers believed that tiny fragments of the precious metal were deposited on the leaves as a result of air pollution. But recently, evidence has been found that gold particles are absorbed from the environment, straight from the depths of the planet.

Eucalyptus bordering

As a rule, gold is found only ineucalyptus bordering leaves (Eucalyptus marginata). It grows only in Western Australia. The main feature of this tree is the presence of long roots - their length reaches 40 meters. Its roots are so long because, being in the arid place of our planet, the tree is constantly in search of water and nutrients. Sometimes, while in search of water, plants find gold veins, and absorb precious particles.

Gold particles get into the leaves of eucalyptus thanks to the long roots of the tree.

To prove this, the authors of a new scientific workwent to a place called "Freddo Gold Prospect", which is located in Western Australia and is rich in underground gold deposits. After studying the tall eucalyptus trees growing at this place, scientists discovered that there are indeed particles of gold in their leaves. In eucalyptus trees that grow in other places, such a treasure trove was not found in the leaves.

The scientists also conducted an experimentwho was planted with eucalyptus in a greenhouse with sand with the addition of a particle of gold. After some time, the leaves of the grown trees were studied using electron microscopy. As expected, they contained particles of expensive metal.

See also: Found in Australia, the "gold nugget" was even more valuable stone

A new way to find gold

So, we can say that gold in Australia grows right on the trees. But what do we get from this?

This is not just an interesting fact - expertsIt is believed that gold deposits can be found by studying eucalyptus leaves. In 2019, this method was already used, and thanks to it, gold miners found a 6-meter gold vein at a depth of 44 meters. According to IFL Science, it was a remarkable find because the deposit was 450 meters away from other known gold sources. Perhaps in the future, eucalyptus trees will help find even more gold in Australia. Also, scientists can look for other trees with long roots - maybe they can also be used to search for minerals.

It is possible that many new gold deposits will be found in Australia in the future

Thanks to a new method of finding gold underground,specialists do not have to spend time and effort on excavations, which sometimes do not give results. If eucalyptus leaves contain gold, it is highly likely that there is a deposit of it at some depth.

Gold has remained the same for centuriesof the most important metals in the world because it rarely loses value. He always maintains stability in the financial market, so buying gold is the most reliable way to protect your assets.

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Also, our lives are strongly affected by oil.You can read more about the reasons for fluctuations in the price of "black gold" in the article "What determines the price of oil and how does it affect people's lives?". I strongly recommend to get acquainted!