Antarctica's Mount Erebus Ejects Gold Crystals Worth About $2 Million Annually
Antarctica’s Mount Erebus—the southernmost active volcano with a permanent lava lake—releases microscopic crystals of pure gold in its volcanic gases. About 80 grams of gold crystals are emitted daily (roughly $6,000), totaling over $2 million per year, with crystals able to travel up to 1,000 kilometers before depositing on ice. Scientists propose two main theories for formation—direct crystallization from chlorine-rich gases as they cool, or growth on the lava lake surface before release—yet the exact mechanism remains unsolved.
