A new study discovered gold particles in the roots of eucalyptus trees. Researchers suggest trees as an indicator for new method to search for gold and other special metals.
The gold found in the eucalyptus trees is not that significant amount to have a cost-effective way to extract the gold. According to Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization ( CSIRO ) geochemist Melvyn Lintern, "If you had 500 eucalypt trees growing over a gold deposit, they would only have enough gold in there to make a wedding ring.”
The researchers analyzed the eucalyptus and acacia trees in Western Australia’s Kalgoorlie region. They were able to see the gold particles, which are about one fifth the width of human hair, using CSIRO’s Maia detector for X-ray elemental imaging. This tool which was located at Clayton’s the Australian Synchrotron, allowed the researchers to find the gold in the cells and vascular system of the eucalyptus leaves.
According to the researchers, the precious metal were rejected by the plant which is why it was shed after getting deposited in the bark and leaves. Their discovery led them to believe that there is more of the gold where it came from, underneath the tree’s roots which go as deep as 50 meters.
"There might be tons of gold underneath and yet the amount of gold in the tree is very small.’’ Lintern told Brisbane Times.
This means that the study’s findings would be significant for the mining industries. Precious metals and minerals like gold, copper and zinc will now have a more efficient, less expensive and safe way to find and detect deposits.
Exploration teams for mining companies can now benefit from the scientific researches on the leaves and barks of trees. They may be able to indicate the content of mineral deposits underneath the ground without even making the effort of digging deep into the ground, which is very costly in terms of time and money.
The research was specific to the eucalyptus leaf but the scientists believe that this method can also be done for other types of trees. As Dr. Lintern said, "As far as we know, this is the first time that anyone has seen gold in any biological tissue and it just happens to be a eucalypt leaf.”
The study was published in the Oct. 22 issue of the online journal Nature Communications.
