A groundbreaking study published in Nature has revealed that Earth’s molten core may be leaking precious metals, including gold, into the planet’s mantle. Scientists detected traces of ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rocks from Hawaii — an element that’s extremely rare on the surface but abundant in the core. The isotopic fingerprint of this ruthenium strongly suggests that it originated deep within the planet, marking the first solid evidence that the core is not completely isolated. This discovery doesn’t mean we’ll be mining gold from the center of the Earth any time soon, but it reshapes our understanding of Earth's internal processes, including how volcanic islands form and how plate tectonics circulate core materials. The study opens the door to new research on how long this transfer has been occurring — and how it might affect our planet’s evolution over millions of years. #GeologyFacts #EarthCore #ScientificBreakthrough #NatureStudy #PlanetEarth