Overview

• Researchers from the University of Göttingen confirmed Earth's core is leaking gold, ruthenium, platinum, rhodium, and palladium into the mantle and crust.
• The study, published in *Nature*, used advanced isotopic techniques to detect high concentrations of ruthenium-100 in Hawaiian volcanic rocks, linking them to the core-mantle boundary.
• Findings suggest mantle plumes transport superheated material, including precious metals, from the core-mantle boundary to the surface, forming islands like Hawaii.
• This discovery overturns the belief that Earth's core is geochemically isolated, revealing a dynamic exchange between the core and mantle.
• While the study offers insights into Earth's inner dynamics and the origin of surface precious metals, extracting these resources remains unfeasible due to their depth beneath 2,900 kilometers of solid rock.