The plants are like sponges that capture materials thanks to the roots and incorporate it into their organism. According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications and conducted by Australian scientists, checking the presence of gold in the leaves of certain plants, we can know if a few meters below the surface there is a deposit of this precious goal .
Prior to this study, the possibility had already been observed of plants absorbing certain elements and incorporating them into their biological tissue. However, this is the first time that they have been able to test it on natural specimens, which opens a door to the development of new biogeochemical methods of soil exploration .
Garrett Ace 300 Metal Detector
The eucalyptus is a perfect tree for this type of research, it works as a kind of hydraulic pump, with deep roots and extended throughout the substrate. In addition, as gold is likely to be toxic to the plant, it tends to transfer it to branches and leaves, where it is easier to expel. And there it is simple to check its presence thanks to new technologies.
However, that there are traces of gold does not mean that they can be used directly, nor that just digging a few meters gold seekers can find their precious treasure. As explained by Mel Lintern, geochemist of the Commonwealth of Scientific and Industrial Research of Australia (CSIRO) and co-author of the study, " the leaves can be used in combination with other tools to make the exploration more profitable and ecological ". And is that thanks to this technique could be found gold deposits buried tens of meters underground covered with sediments of up to 60 million years.
But the search for gold is not the only utility that researchers have found in this study. As Lintern himself points out, "eucalyptus trees are so common that this technique could be used more commonly, it could even be used to find other metals such as zinc and copper ."
TREASURE SEEKERS
Who ever dreamed of finding a buried chest full of gold coins? The articles in newspapers and magazines abound: "They will look for a treasure in a galleon sunk in the south" (Clarín 9/29/97); "Archaeological diving to study an English vessel" (Clarín, 4/1/98); "They discover domestic objects from the time of the May Revolution" (Clarín 5/18/98); "Submerged in the sea of time (News 9/6/2000). There are more, but those mentioned are enough to enter the world of treasure hunting. Although it seems incredible, there are already several Argentines who dedicate themselves to this hobby. Fundamentally they practice it on the beaches during the summer season. They love to find rings, coins, bracelets, watches and other metallic objects that people lost in the sand. You can also find a piece thrown by the sea, such as screws, boat debris or, in the worst case, soda cans. It's a matter of luck and practice.
Undoubtedly, to begin the activity, metal detectors are indispensable tools. These are devices that generate an electromagnetic field and, when they pass over a metallic element, produce a sound variable in intensity according to the distance at which the object is located. The most elementary models detect buried pieces up to two meters deep (the sophisticated reach up to 10). It can be aluminum, copper, iron, silver, zinc, lead, gold, nickel or bronze (actually, all metals). A discrimination control allows you to adjust the equipment to the specific search, in order to filter the discovery of unwanted materials. Of course, to work properly you have to move them as if you were sweeping. Keeping them quiet will not produce any sound, even if you are inside an iron mine.
The local market offers several brands, models and prices of metal detectors. Elementals have a cost of $ 400, a value that increases in intervals of $ 200 according to the increasing order of complexity. There is a dish-shaped coil, simple electronics, high discrimination for ground or immersion, pulse (hundreds of checks per minute), pagers or search antennas for metals or stones with a radiesthesia principle (as in ancient times used to look for water), and even nocturnal viewfinders and thermometers to differentiate tunnels or burial caves.
According to fans, the subject gives to remove so much earth, as water and history. Within our country, some found pieces that date back to 1700; others, coins from the Jesuit period; and there were those who rose with pieces of a meteorite that fell in the Province of Chaco. If travel is concerned, all the territories mentioned in world history encyclopedias are potential treasure sites. You just have to study a possible place, find out a lot, and guide the search. Without going so far, there are Argentines who became rich by finding buried in the bottom of their houses, vessels filled with gold coins that belonged to a relative. Photographs and documents so certify. If you do not believe it, check with the Mercosur Treasure Seekers Association. Maybe you can be next.
Top 10 discoveries with a homemade metal detector
1946- In search of money stolen in the yard: The use of a mine detector borrowed from the US Army. He made postal inspectors discover $ 153,150 buried in the backyard of a deceased postal worker who had stolen money. The booty had been hidden in jars and cans; and buried three meters below the surface.
1952- Discovering the Pirate's Treasure: Headquartered in Massachusetts, treasure hunter Edward Rowe Snow, on a visit to a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia, used a metal detector and old boards to find eight Spanish doubloons 18th century and the parts of a skeleton that was still holding the coins in his hand. It is believed that the treasure came from a Spanish galleon captured by pirates in 1725.
1966- Lost gold mine: In Texas, a group of treasure hunters with metal detectors reported that they had rediscovered the lost gold mine San Saba, which had been abandoned by the Spanish in 1758, when they were invaded by the Comanche Indians.
1966 - Buried Model T: In Detroit, a group of people discovered what appeared to be a Ford Model T that a man had buried in his backyard in 1926, to preserve it for posterity.
1974- Lost Property Institute: In Florida, amateur metal detector Roy Lloyd found a ring from the 1926 high school class with the initials "MB". Finally he found the owner of the ring, Miles Baker, who had lost it 48 years earlier on the pier in the city.
1974 / 1975- Fuel Conspiracy: Richard H. Lester, an amateur treasure hunter, used a metal detector to find a bullet on a railroad property in Dallas, near the area where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The FBI finally determined that the bullet was of a different type from those known to the alleged killer Lee Harvey Oswald.
1976- Near the Schoolyard: In Alabama, James Garigues looked for, near a secondary school, ancient coins and found a tank projectile to which they date from the Second World War. The shell was successfully removed by a military demolition team.
1984- Battle: An archeology volunteer found a bone of a finger wearing a ring in Little Bighorn, where Lieutenant-Colonel George Custer's troops were exterminated by the Sioux in 1876.
1997- Shell Confederation: In Virginia, two young men with a metal detector unearthed an artillery shell in their grandfather's backyard.
2008- Gold Chalice: Mike DeMar, a diver in Key West, found a golden chalice on a Spanish treasure ship that sank in 1622.