Gold Formed During Earthquakes

Up to 80 percent of the world's gold could've been formed by vaporizations following earthquakes

Over 80 per cent of the world's commercial gold deposits formed in a flash. Using a simple model, geologists have shown that mountain-building earthquakes deep below Earth pull apart rocks so quickly that the high-pressure fluids they contain instantly vaporise. This process leaves behind residues rich in minerals including gold.

Geologists have long known that gold seams must form when mineral-rich water flows through networks of cracks in rocks 5 to 30 kilometres below the ground. But exactly how the gold accumulates in these cracks was unclear.

h/t Charles WT