(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Generally speaking, a leak is bad news.
If your car tire is leaking, you’re probably going to end up stranded on the side of the road.
If a pipe in your house is leaking, you’re probably going to end up with wet carpet.
And if your team’s defense is leaky, well, it’s probably not going to win very many games.
Well, the Earth is leaking.
The good news is this isn’t bad news!
Because the Earth is leaking gold.
Scientists studying volcanic rock in Hawaii discovered signs of a precious metal called ruthenium. This platinum group metal has unique characteristics that make it quite valuable. It hardens other metals, serves as a catalyst, and enhances electrical conductivity. Ruthenium is used in electrical contacts, jewelry, solar cells, and as a catalyst in chemical reactions.
The unique aspect of this find is the fact that the scientists determined that the metal could only have come from deep inside the Earth’s core, some 1,800 miles below the Earth’s surface.
As it turns out, ruthenium wasn’t the only metal oozing from the core.
“When the first results came in, we realized that we had literally struck gold!” study author Nils Messling said.
“Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the Earth’s mantle above.”
The outer core is a layer of molten rock swirling around the inner core, mostly formed as a solid iron ball.
There are thousands of miles of nearly impenetrable rock between the core and the Earth’s surface, known as the mantle. It extends from about 22 miles below the Earth’s surface and crust to the core. The boundary between Earth’s center and the mantle lies about 1,800 miles deep.
The Earth’s molten outer core holds about 99.9 percent of the planet’s gold and other precious metals. It is impossible to mine the core. However, nature is apparently mining itself.
Researchers studying the lava erupting from the Kilauea Volcano discovered that the makeup of the molten rock suggests that it originated from the Earth’s center.
Live Science explained the ramifications.
“The detection of Ru linked to the core demonstrates that precious metals, including gold, can move out of the center of the Earth. That means some of these precious metals we mine today may have originally come from the core.”
Another researcher said the discovery shows that the Earth’s core isn’t as isolated as once thought.
“We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material — several hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of rock — originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth’s surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii.”
We’re not talking about significant amounts of gold here. I don’t recommend trying to scoop up lava in a quest for riches. But as far as leaks go, it’s not a bad one!
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
