Active Antarctic Volcano Spews Out Gold Everyday

80 grams of gold per day, in the form of particles measuring 20-60 micrometres are emitted by Mt Erebus and can be found in the atmosphere up to 1,000 km away.
Active Antarctic Volcano Spews Out Gold Everyday
The US Navy icebreaker 'USS Glacier' (AGB-4) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, in the shadow of Mount Erebus, circa 1960. Archive Photos/Getty Images
Jim Birchall
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A rare geological anomaly exists in the Antarctic, where the area’s highest and most southern active volcano is spewing out thousands of dollars in crystallised gold specks.

Mount Erebus’ emissions, reaching 3,794 metres high, include gases, steam, and boulders of partially molten rock.

Jim Birchall
Jim Birchall
Author
Jim Birchall has written and edited for several regional New Zealand publications. He was most recently the editor of the Hauraki Coromandel Post.