Synchrotron Data - Lintern M4202 (Oct 2011) - gold in gum leaves

Australian Synchrotron experiment 4202 with abstract: Understanding fundamental metal dispersion processes that lead to geochemical anomalies in soil and vegetation from deeply weathered gold deposits is important for mineral exploration in Australia. We aim to further progress our understanding of these processes by analysing the distribution of gold in natural and experimentally-doped foliage from Australian native plants. The results will assist us in visualising uptake pathways by plants, mechanisms used to compartmentalise the potentially toxic metals in the plants and the relationship between Au accumulation in vegetation and anomalies found in the soil. This work will assist exploration for buried mineral deposits in Australia's deeply weathered landscapes.

The results show gold exudates on leaves from eucalypts and acacia trees imaged on the XFM beamline of the Australian Synchrotron using the Maia detector system.