Figure of the month: 3,000,000,000

It is common knowledge the Earth’s core holds a great amount of liquid gold, more precisely approximately 99 percent of the total unexploited gold reserves on the Blue Planet. However, this gold is embedded roughly 3,000 km deep within the Earth, which means that extraction is out of the question. Another unsolved problem is the Earth’s core temperature, which exceeds 6,000 degrees Celsius. But what about the inner walls of large volcanoes? Are there gold deposits within reach and at a suitable temperature? Absolutely – a good example is the giant Taupo volcano in New Zealand.

The super volcano that became part of a thermal zone

Scientific research has shown that the Taupo volcano in New Zealand – one of the largest and most dangerous volcanoes on Earth – was formed around 300,000 years ago. Even though it has not erupted for 1,800 years, it is continuously monitored for seismic activity, changes in water level and water quality. Water came into play around 160,000 years ago when the super volcano slowly became part of a thermal zone that also includes a large lake – Lake Taupo. The volcano’s magma chamber is only about 6 km below the water surface. The entire thermal zone is dotted with collapsed craters, hot and cold lakes, geysers and mud pools. 

Gold worth US$3 billion annually, seemingly within reach

In 2015, New Zealand and US geologists not only discovered that the water of Lake Taupo contains around 0.02 grams of gold per litre but also found six huge gold deposits that could yield gold worth US$3 billion annually if mined. However, these figures are merely theoretical, as there is no safe method of mining gold from such a seismically fragile region, and the Waiotapu thermal area is New Zealand’s largest freshwater reservoir. In addition, it has great religious significance for the indigenous population: ‘Waiotapu’ is Maori for ‘holy water’.