Real Gold Lurks Inside Fool’s Gold at Deep-Sea Vents
Japanese scientists aboard the Shinsei Maru found real gold embedded in pyrite near Higashi‑Aogashima Knoll’s hydrothermal vents, with concentrations up to 1.9% by weight—far higher than other deep‑sea deposits—trapped in colloform pyrite formed by vent fluids and arsenic-rich minerals; detected using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). This “invisible gold” could guide future deep‑sea exploration and mining.