Scientists Uncover Earth’s Hidden “Gold Kitchen” Beneath the Ocean Floor

Researchers analyzed 66 volcanic glass samples from the Kermadec arc and Havre Trough to trace gold behavior during mantle melting.

Some samples contained up to six nanograms of gold per gram and showed elevated gold-to-copper ratios compared with mid-ocean ridge basalts.

The team concludes that repeated, high-degree melting of a hydrous, oxidized mantle above the sulfide liquidus progressively concentrates gold into magmas.

This process helps explain elevated gold in submarine arc-related hydrothermal systems but yields concentrations far below economic ore grades.