Geologists have known about the relationship between volcanic action and precious metals deposits for a long time. Now, for the first time, a team of scientists is watching the formation of a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to learn more about the silver and gold deposits it offers.
The scientists were aboard the Franklin, a vessel of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), in May, when they observed the eruption of a volcano near the Solomon Islands. The volcano broke the water’s surface, spewing tonnes of rock and smoke and leaving the beginnings of a new island. Molten lava shot more than 150 ft. in the air, surrounded by mushroom clouds that rose to levels of about 1,500 ft.
“We arrived at the site to find waves breaking on the volcanic peak,” says the expedition’s chief scientist, Brent McInnes of SCIRO Exploration & Mining. “There was an eruption taking place every five minutes.”
McInnes and others were returning to Darwin, Australia, with a record-sized “black-smoker” chimney from the floor of the Bismark Sea (the chimney, formed by underwater volcanic activity, is expected to be rich in gold, silver and zinc). However, they delayed their return when they found that the volcano, known as Kavachi Seamount, was becoming active after nine years of dormancy.
Taking rock samples from a freshly formed volcano is rarely done on land, and is perhaps unprecedented at sea, according to geologists. Scientists are particularly interested in studying the sulphide-rich volcanic samples that are similar to gold ores from other volcanic centres, such as the Lihir mining operation in Papua New Guinea.
— The preceding is an excerpt from Silver News, published by the Washington, D.C.-based Silver Institute.
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