A research team from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has collected samples from snow surrounding the crater of Mount Erebus in Antarctica, from the gas cloud rising from the lava lake inside it, and from air samples taken in areas up to 1,000 kilometres from the volcano.
Analysis results revealed the presence of microscopic particles of pure gold in all samples examined. When viewed under an electron microscope, the particles appeared as clearly defined crystals rather than irregular fragments, with some reaching approximately 60 micrometres in size.
According to the researchers' estimates, Mount Erebus releases around 80 grams of these gold particles daily; however, they are scattered across vast expanses of ice and remain suspended in volcanic gases, making their collection or extraction impossible.
The volcano is located on Ross Island, approximately 1,350 kilometres from the geographic South Pole, and is considered the southernmost active volcano on Earth.