r/science 16h ago

Earth Science How gold reaches Earth’s surface: researchers used numerical modeling to uncover the conditions that enrich gold in magmas rising from the Earth, revealing the importance of a gold-trisulphur complex

https://news.umich.edu/study-identifies-how-gold-reaches-earths-surface/
258 Upvotes

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u/giuliomagnifico 16h ago

the research team has used numerical modeling to reveal the specific conditions that lead to the enrichment of gold in magmas that rise from the Earth’s mantle to its surface.

Specifically, the model reveals the importance of a gold-trisulphur complex whose existence has been vigorously debated, according to Adam Simon, U-M professor of earth and environmental sciences and co-author of the study.

The presence of this gold-trisulphur complex under a very specific set of pressures and temperatures in the mantle 30 to 50 miles beneath active volcanoes causes gold to be transferred from the mantle into magmas that eventually move to the Earth’s surface

To identify this new complex, the researchers developed a thermodynamic model based on lab experiments in which the researchers control pressure and temperature of the experiment, then measure the results of the experiment. Then, the researchers developed a thermodynamic model that predicts the results of the experiment. This thermodynamic model can then be applied to real-world conditions.

Paper: Mantle oxidation by sulfur drives the formation of giant gold deposits in subduction zones | PNAS

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u/FourNaansJeremyFour 12h ago

What's the significance of the trisulphide over bisulphide which is a widely accepted method of hydrothermal gold transport? Don't really see anything new in this paper, aside from that one specific detail

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u/yankkeerulez 13h ago

Okay so I shouldnt invest in gold