Microscopic prospectors may soon be helping in the search for gold. Researchers say that gold hunters could use changes in soil bacteria to uncover reserves of the precious metal.
If the technique turns out to be reliable, it might offer a relatively cheap and easy way to scan large areas for gold ore deposits.
Hongmei Wang of Ohio State University in Columbus surveyed 11 sites across gold mining regions in China. In soil above ore deposits she found two to three times as many Bacillus cereus in their spore form compared to other sites.
The bacteria transform into protective spores under harsh conditions such as heat, drought and UV radiation. But Wang’s lab experiments have confirmed that high gold concentration has the same effect.
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She believes that looking for B. cereus spores in soil would be less expensive than standard chemical techniques for pin-pointing gold. So, it could act as a quick and dirty method to narrow down a search.
“It could be used as prospecting tool,” says Jim Brierley, who acts as a consultant for the mining firm Newmont in Denver, Colorado. But he doubts that the idea will have a major impact on the way companies search for gold.
“Other toxins might make them form spores,” he says, so it might not always be accurate. At best it will supplement existing techniques, he says.
Wang presented her work at the 102nd General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
