The secret life of nuggets

摘要

Gold nuggets may grow underground 'like potatoes', according to a dramatic scientific discovery by researchers in Australia's Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration (CRC LEME). The prized pieces of bullion have long puzzled prospectors and geologists because they Show up in places where there is no obvious local gold concentration from which a large piece of pure metal could have come. An investigation by CRC LEME doctoral researcher Frank Reith has yielded evidence that the formation of gold nuggets may be the product of generations of soil microbes hard at work. This could lead to significant enhancements in gold discovery and exploitation in Australia.