Overview

• Scientists have discovered that the pressure from earthquakes generates electric charges in quartz, facilitating gold deposition.
• The study shows that quartz's piezoelectric effect can draw gold from hydrothermal fluids during seismic events.
• Gold tends to accumulate on existing gold grains within quartz, forming larger nuggets over time.
• This discovery challenges traditional theories of gold formation, which did not fully explain large nugget formation.
• The findings could reshape our understanding of geological processes and gold mining techniques.