Invisible gold nano particles have been identified by Australian scientists. Although nano particles of gold have been created in labs, they have never been found in nature.

The research is expected to aid explorers to find new gold deposits in Australia, as it will give a deeper understanding of how gold can be transported and deposited by geological processes.

A study by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) scientists, published in Geology, discussed the discovery. According to lead author, Dr. Rob Hough, the particles were discovered in the southern areas of Western Australia, where the groundwater is very salty and acidic. This water dissolves primary gold and deposits it again as pure gold crystals on fracture surfaces and in open pore spaces. Scientists found a dark band across the crystals, which on magnification proved to be a mass of gold nanoparticles and nanoplates identical to those created in labs.

An analysis of clays from the fracture surface revealed that the clays contained up to 59 parts-per-million of gold, even though there was no gold visible. The study concluded that the nanoparticles of gold imaged represented the invisible gold in the clay.

Hough said that the gold nanoparticles had not been identified earlier because they are transparent to electron beams and thus effectively invisible. With gold costing about AU $950 ($909.7) an ounce and predicted to go up further, this could be good news for gold explorers in Australia. X

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