Strangely, the mountain spits out real gold every day but no one collects it

Erebus is one of the active volcanoes in Antarctica, 3,794m above sea level.

The most special thing is that its air streams contain microscopic gold crystals. In one day, it is estimated that the volcano spewed out about 80 grams of crystallized gold, all crystals smaller than 20 micrometers - and worth about 6,000 USD, according to science site IFL Science .

The gold dust that Mount Erebus spewed flew far away. Antarctic researchers have discovered traces of gold in the air around the volcanic area, about 1,000km from the mountain. Because gold dust is so small and flies over such a wide area, it is difficult to collect.

NASA said gold dust is just one of many things spewed from Erebus because it regularly releases gas and steam, and sometimes even rocks.

Through this, British volcanologist Tamsin Mather explained to Metro that the magma (molten rock) of Mount Erebus has 'unusual chemical reactions'.

'Erebus is one of the few volcanoes that has a continuously active lava lake inside the crater and spews gas 24/7. The gases it spews contain small particles of metals, including gold, not just gold. Each volcano has different chemical properties/reactions. A few volcanoes outside Erebus also spew gold (dust),' she shared.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Conor Bacon of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (Columbia University, New York) told Live Science : 'These things are actually quite rare, because it requires some very specific conditions to ensuring the volcano's surface never freezes."

Not only famous for spewing gold dust, this volcano is also known for its involvement in the shocking New Zealand aviation tragedy, also known as the Mount Erebus disaster.

On November 28, 1979, Air New Zealand flight TE 901 crashed, plummeting into the slopes of the Erebus volcano, killing 257 people on board, according to IFLS .

The flight is part of Air New Zealand's program to take passengers to see Antarctica. The flight lasted 11 hours, without stopping, from Auckland to Antarctica and then back to New Zealand.

The luxurious trip to Antarctica attracts many customers, bringing in significant revenue for the airline.

On that fateful day, the sky was cloudy but the flight still departed. When trying to lower altitude so tourists could see the scene below more clearly, the plane crashed and crashed into the mountainside.

At the scene of the plane wreck, the rescue team discovered that some of the passengers' cameras still had intact film rolls. Some photos show passengers taken seconds before the accident.

The tragedy of flight TE901 was a shock to New Zealand. New Zealand's population at that time was only about 3 million people. So, almost everyone was involved in the accident in one way or another. Some people have relatives or know the victims and rescue forces in the incident.

After many lawsuits and countless controversies, Air New Zealand discontinued its Antarctic scenic flight.
In 2019, speaking at the 40th anniversary of the tragedy, then-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there was an error with the aircraft's navigation system and the pilots were completely unaware. fault in the accident.

David Pac

Update 19 April 2024