Unearthing Hidden Treasures: The Science Behind Volcanic Gold Deposits

For thousands of years, gold has been considered among humanity’s most valuable metals, inspiring tales such as the Legend of El Dorado, the California Gold Rush, and numerous other narratives in the quest for wealth.

You might not immediately associate volcanoes with gold mining, yet as Dr. Adam Simon from the University of Michigan clarifies: “Numerous gold deposits, along with other metals such as copper and silver, are linked to volcanoes around the Ring of Fire. What remains unclear is why certain volcanic systems are exceptionally rich in gold.”

According to Dr. Simon, we possess some understanding of the molten mixture required, but geologists are exerting considerable effort to determine the precise sequence of actions nature undertakes — with his contribution to a recently released study presenting a crucial piece. “At the time of Earth’s formation, gold and most other metals became part of the Earth’s mantle,” he elucidates. “Nature can extract this gold and elevate it into the upper layers of Earth’s crust, situated directly beneath the volcanoes we observe.”

Gold generally remains several miles beneath the surface, unless it forms a bond with a specific type of sulfur molecule — three atoms, although some theories suggest it’s the two-atom form. Regardless, this bond facilitates the ascent of the precious metal. “In the mantle, the concentration of gold is exceedingly low… we’re discussing parts per billion,” Dr. Simon notes. “When nature melts the mantle, it’s not liquefying the entire mantle, it’s just a fraction of it. One could envision gold sort of hitchhiking within the magma.”

Even extremely low concentrations can be influenced by natural forces beneath our feet: “What we managed to demonstrate is that, by adhering to specific processes in subduction zones, nature can enhance gold concentrations by as much as 1000 times.”

Mining gold in such regions is deemed “high risk, high reward,” yet Dr. Simon asserts that current technology is capable: “A rock volume may contain one part gold per million parts rock, and a mining enterprise can extract that and turn a profit at today’s gold valuations.”

Billions of dollars in startup costs, interest, taxes, and environmental permissions present another challenge, but geology and geopolitics often intersect — and Dr. Simon provides this statistic regarding our future trajectory. “By 2025, we will utilize about 100% more gold annually than we did in 1960. A significant portion of this gold is utilized in technology — jewelry, laptops, smartphones. Our research will contribute to the methodologies that mining companies employ to enhance their success rates in discovering new gold deposits to address the escalating demand.”

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