Scientists discover traces of Earth’s hidden gold

The Earth’s deepest gold reserves aren’t stored in vaults or mines—instead, they lie thousands of kilometers beneath our feet, locked away within the metallic core. While more than 99.999% of Earth’s gold and other precious metals remain beyond human reach, researchers from the University of Göttingen have found tantalizing evidence that some of these elements may leak upward.

In a groundbreaking discovery, the team detected traces of the rare precious metal Ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rocks on the islands of Hawaii. The signature of these samples suggests they originated from the core-mantle boundary—a finding that challenges long-held assumptions about Earth’s internal structure.

When Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, most gold, Ruthenium, and other dense elements sank into the core. Over time, only a scarce amount remained in the rocky mantle. However, scientists have now detected an isotope of Ruthenium—100Ru at unusually high levels in Hawaiian lava flows. This isotope is more abundant in the core than in the mantle, meaning the source of this material must be deep within the planet.

Dr. Nils Messling, from Göttingen University’s Department of Geochemistry, described the discovery’s excitement: “When the first results came in, we realized that we had struck gold! Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the Earth’s mantle above.”

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According to the researchers, immense quantities of superheated mantle material—quadrillions of metric tonnes—are rising from the core-mantle boundary to form ocean islands like Hawaii. This challenges the long-standing idea that Earth’s core is completely sealed off from the mantle.

Researchers from Göttingen found tiny traces of the precious metal Ruthenium with an anomalous isotopic composition in lavas from Hawaii. The new findings prove that the Earth’s core is leaking metallic material, including gold and other precious metals.

Photo: United States Geological Survey (M. Patrick)

Professor Matthias Willbold co-led the research and emphasized the implications: “Our findings not only show that the Earth’s core is not as isolated as previously assumed. We can now prove that vast mantle material originates at the core-mantle boundary and rises to the surface.“

This discovery suggests that some of the gold and other metals in industries like renewable energy might have trickled up deep inside the Earth. However, researchers still need to determine whether this process has been happening for millions of years or is a relatively recent geological phenomenon.

Messling concludes: “Our findings open up an entirely new perspective on Earth’s inner dynamics. There’s still so much we don’t know about how material moves between the core and mantle—but this discovery is a major step forward.”

Journal Reference:

1. Messling, N., Willbold, M., Kallas, L. et al. Ru and W isotope systematics in ocean island basalts reveal core leakage. Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09003-0

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