A shocking discovery about the birth of a giant gold nugget.

(NLĐO) - Australian scientists have discovered that large deposits of gold found in nature have a turbulent history.

Natural gold forms in quartz—the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust—and sometimes, between quartz veins, miners find large, intact chunks of gold instead of scattered fragments.

That's almost scientifically absurd.

A large, naturally formed gold nugget found within a quartz vein - Photo: MONASH UNIVERSITY

According to Live Science, a research team led by geologist Chris Voisey from Monash University (Australia) has been searching for the origin of unusually large gold nuggets.

Before humans discovered it, gold underwent a long journey deep within the Earth.

From deep within the planet's crust, hydrothermal fluids carry gold atoms up and push them through quartz veins.

In theory, this means that the gold molecules would be evenly dispersed within these quartz veins.

However, about 75% of the gold mined by humans appears in the form of lumps, although sometimes enormous gold nuggets are found.

According to a paper published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience, the formation of these gold nuggets is due to a catastrophic earthquake.

Dr. Voisey said that two separate clues helped them solve the mystery of the gold nuggets.

First, the largest gold deposits appear in orogeny gold deposits, which are deposits formed during orogeny events, including a series of earthquakes.

Secondly, quartz is a piezoelectric mineral, meaning it generates its own electrical charge in response to geological stresses, such as those caused by earthquakes.

A complete process has been recreated: Earthquakes fracture the rock and push hydrothermal fluids up into the quartz veins, filling them with dissolved gold.

In response to the earthquake's pressure, the quartz veins simultaneously generate an electrical charge that reacts with the gold, causing the gold to precipitate and solidify at specific points where pre-deposited gold particles have formed a "primer."

This discovery once again shows that most of the precious jewelry we use – from gold to diamonds and gemstones – has a more brutal origin than we realize.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/phat-hien-chan-dong-ve-su-ra-doi-cua-khoi-vang-khong-lo-196240904110912902.htm