News Earth

How earthquakes build beefy gold nuggets

Strain from a temblor can generate voltages in quartz veins that stimulate gold mineralization

A bit of gold nestled inside a quartz block.

Quartz generates an electrical voltage when it is strained, and during earthquakes this characteristic may stimulate the deposition of gold.

By Nikk Ogasa

When strained by earthquakes, underground networks of quartz veins can generate enough voltage to snatch gold from passing fluids, researchers report September 2 in Nature Geoscience. The findings explain how fluids carrying meager amounts of gold can concoct large nuggets, even in chemically inert settings.

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