Millions of dollars’ worth of gold and silver have been located in the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand.
According to a report published in the journal Geothermics, at least six deep reservoirs expected to yield high levels of gold and silver have been identified. High grade deposits of precious and other types of metals are said to dissolve in magma-heated water, or hot springs.
Gold concentrations in the water topped 20 parts per billion and silver concentrations reached 2,000 or more parts per billion. Tapping one of these water reservoirs could yield as much as $2.71 million of gold and $3.6 million of silver annually, Science News has mentioned.
Geoscientist Stuart Simmons of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and colleagues have asked for the technologies needed to be developed to help retrieve millions of dollars in gold and silver while also ensuring lasting production.