People keep finding new gold deposits. A group of scientists has proposed a new theory that explains the appearance of gold deposits on Earth.
Gold deposits, at least those associated with volcanoes, originate in the Earth’s mantle and were brought to the surface during magma eruptions. But how this gold is mined to the surface – is still a matter of debate.
An international team of researchers used a numerical modeling method to identify the specific conditions under which gold accumulations form in magma, reports Noi.md with reference to .
Co-author of the study, Professor Adam Simon from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan, states that an important role in this process is played by the gold-triser complex, whose existence is actively debated.
The presence of this complex of gold and sulfur trioxide in a very specific combination of pressure and temperature in the mantle at depths of 50-80 kilometers below active volcanoes determines the transfer of gold from magma, which subsequently erupts to the surface of the Earth.
“This thermodynamic model that we have now published is the first to show the presence of a gold-sulfur trioxide complex that we did not know existed under these conditions until now.
It provides the most plausible explanation for the very high concentrations of gold in some mineral systems,” said Simon.
Scientists explain that gold feels very well in the Earth’s mantle, but under certain conditions, when it meets sulfur trioxide ions, it forms a gold-sulfur trioxide complex. This complex is highly mobile in magma and is easily removed by volcanoes.
