Geobotanical Methods

One geobotanical (geo = geology and botanic = plants) technique uses trees to spot minerals in the ground! This technique had major success in 2019, when a company struck gold in Australia.

How does it work? Trees act as deep underground pumps that bring up water If there are minerals below that tree, the tree brings up the mineral-rich water. By analyzing leaves from that tree, it’s possible to see whether some minerals, such as gold, are below that tree.

Although the method is difficult because the quantity of mineral is small, new developments in analysis tools can help us to detect even traces of minerals, simply by checking the leaves.

Other plants have also been used for mineral detection, like the copper flower, which tends to grow in the presence of – you guessed it! – copper, and the chandelier tree as a botanical indicator for kimberlite pipes, a source of mined diamonds.