Money doesn't grow on trees but gold just might: study

October 23, 2013 02:10

Researchers said today they had found a surprising marker for deep-buried gold, miniscule traces in the leaves of Eucalyptus trees growing over veins of the yellow metal.

The unusual finding may prove a boon for prospectors in a time of dwindling gold reserves and skyrocketing prices, with new discoveries down 45 per cent in the past decade, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications.

"This link between... vegetation growth and buried gold deposits could prove instrumental in developing new technologies for mineral exploration," said a press summary.

Eucalyptus trees can send their roots deep into the ground in search of water in dry areas, even breaking into gold-rich zones where they absorb microscopic metal particles as they drink.

A team of scientists from Australia said they have now shown that gold can be absorbed by the roots and travel through the tree, all the way to its leaves, though in negligible concentrations.

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