Earth's Inner Fort Knox [Earth's core has 1.6 quadrillion tons of gold]

Discover magazine ^ | September 2006 | Anne Wootton

[grundle]

Searching for a pot of gold? Try the center of the Earth.

More than 99 percent of Earth's gold is missing—it all sank to the center of the planet billions of years ago. In fact, says geologist Bernard Wood of Macquarie University in Australia, there's enough gold in Earth's core to coat its surface in 1.5 feet of the stuff. How did it get there?

Earth formed from a series of smaller planetesimals that crashed together over the course of 30 million to 40 million years. Wood deduced how much gold ought to be present in Earth's crust by comparing the crust's composition to that of meteorites similar to the planetesimals. He concluded that the crust was depleted of gold, platinum, and nickel and suggests that all these iron-loving elements were pulled into Earth's iron-rich core while its surface was still an ocean of molten magma.

In fact, if meteorites hadn't later deposited gold on Earth's surface millions of years after its core had fully formed and its crust had cooled, gold would be even more rare and expensive than it is today. Wood has calculated that 1.6 quadrillion tons of gold must lie in Earth's core. This may sound like a lot, but it is really only a tiny percentage of the core's overall mass—about one part per million. The core holds six times as much platinum, Wood notes, "but people get less excited about that than gold."

[Alter Kaker]

Great! Let's mine the core! Can't be too tricky, can it?

[diamond6]

Very cool!

[onyx]

Eureka!

[sageb1]

I'm so there!

[AZRepublican]

>Let's mine the core! Can't be too tricky, can it?

No more tricker than mining inside a volcano while it is irrupting.

[Talking_Mouse]

I thought that the core was diamonds (or is that Europa)?

[kinoxi]

Didn't this this guy get sucked up at the end of some horrible accident?

[aruanan]

He concluded that the crust was depleted of gold, platinum, and nickel and suggests that all these iron-loving elements were pulled into Earth's iron-rich core while its surface was still an ocean of molten magma.

It's surface was never an ocean of molten magma or it wouldn't still be outgassing millions of tons of methane and helium every year.

[oprahstheantichrist]

"...1.6 quadrillion tons of gold must lie in Earth's core."

Sure.

[Michael.SF.]

Using this logic, it seems to me that molten lava would have a high probability of a high gold content. Yet, this does not seem to be the case.

[Andy from Beaverton]

I was wondering why my gold finder always goes nuts when I point it straight down? I thought it was broke.

[STARWISE]

But where? I used to have a metal detector, too .. LOL.

[FreedomCalls]

Using this logic, it seems to me that molten lava would have a high probability of a high gold content. Yet, this does not seem to be the case.

Lava does not come from the earth's core. At its deepest, it comes from the very topmost part of the outer mantle.

[onyx]

Looks like we'll have to drill. I've always wanted a metal detector to stroll the beach with when I visit my daughter.

[DrGunsforHands]

He said the core, not the mantle, which is where lava comes from. http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/quakes/inside/mantle.html
Not a whole lot of volcanic material actually comes out of the core.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I thought that the core was diamonds (or is that Europa)?

Gas giant types like Jupiter and Saturn. Or so the theory goes.

[JRandomFreeper]

Great! Let's mine the core! Can't be too tricky, can it?

You must know my boss....

one-liner IMs "Download http://www.satan.org/ap-from-hell/Step%2021538909/substep_ZetaZeta and let's see about getting it online and customers paying by lunchtime.... BTW, lunch is in an hour... who is picking up lunch?"

/john

[verum ago]

Sure

sounds like a ridiculously huge quantity, but when compared to the planet's overall mass, it's pretty damn insignificant

[dennisw]

hmmm