There is indeed gold in the hills of Western Australia – now there is a part of the world that needs more resources – but its tiny. In fact CSIRO scientists are discovering that natural processes are producing nano-particles of gold in the ground very similar to those nanotechnology is producing in laboratories.
Lead author, CSIRO’s Dr Rob Hough, explains that the particles were discovered in Western Australia. “In the southern areas of the State, groundwater is very salty and acidic. This water dissolves primary gold and re-deposits it as pure gold crystals on fracture surfaces and in open pore spaces,” he says.
“On investigation of these crystals, there appeared to be a dark band across them. However, high magnification imaging showed the band was in fact, a mass of gold nanoparticles and nanoplates. These are identical to those being manufactured in laboratories around the world for their unique properties.”
With gold fetching around $950 an ounce and expected to rise, this research is good news for Australia’s gold explorers.
nano means 1000th of 1000th of a millimetre – or roughly translated; very, very, very, very small.
