Look to the leaves for clues to gold deposits

Researchers in Western Australia posit that trees and termite mounds could lead prospectors to paydirt

"There's gold in them thar hills", says Colonel Mulberry Sellers in Mark Twain's 1892 novel, The American Claimant. There might have been some truth in it then but, these days, gold prospectors could do better by sampling termite mounds and leaves from acacia trees. New research in Western Australia reveals where remaining gold deposits might be hiding.

Across the world, most of the easy gold (outcropping at the Earth's surface) has already been found and gold miners have to be a bit more cunning. One area that hasn't been searched thoroughly is underneath sediments and soils. But how does a modern gold prospector know where to start digging?