‘Shocking truth about hidden gold’: The force that drives gold from Earth’s depths to surface
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Gold Journey
Gold’s journey from Earth’s mantle to its surface relies on sulfur, which bonds with gold and enables its transport through volcanic activity, defying its natural sequestered state.
Fiery Path
Subduction zones, where tectonic plates collide, create volcanic chains like the Pacific Ring of Fire, where gold deposits rise through magma formed in these high-pressure zones.
Sulfur Bond
Scientists agree sulfur is the transport agent for gold. What’s debated is whether trisulfur or bisulfide plays the critical role in creating soluble gold complexes.
Trisulfur Champion
Deng-Yang He’s team, through thermodynamic modeling, identified trisulfur as the key to gold’s journey. Their model predicts highly efficient gold extraction from Earth’s mantle.
Bisulfide Twist
Farsang and Zajacz’s experiments challenge trisulfur’s supremacy, revealing bisulfide as a viable agent even at high magmatic temperatures, previously thought impossible.
Experimental Clash
The Geneva team’s laser techniques debunk prior studies that overestimated sulfur radicals, calling into question widely accepted data from a 2011 landmark paper.
Gold Complex
The formula Au(HS)S3–, identified by He’s team, highlights trisulfur’s potential to transport gold in concentrations far exceeding mantle averages, reshaping mineralogy insights.
Volcanic Secrets
Sulfur’s behavior under extreme conditions—whether trisulfur or bisulfide dominates—offers clues to unlocking how Earth’s crust gained its richest gold deposits.
Scientific Duel
The rivalry between trisulfur and bisulfide continues as researchers refine methods and challenge each other’s findings, pushing the boundaries of geochemistry.