Science & Technology

Mount Erebus, Antarctica's volcano, emits microscopic gold crystals

By TestNeeti Editorial TeamPublished Thursday, 2 July 2026 2 min readSource: GKTodayArticle 9 of 21

Mount Erebus is an active volcano on Ross Island in East Antarctica, about 1,350 kilometres from the South Pole. It is the southernmost active volcano on Earth and has been continuously erupting since 1972. The volcano releases microscopic crystals of elemental gold into the atmosphere, which can travel up to 1,000 kilometres from the volcano. Mount Erebus is one of the few volcanoes with a permanent lava lake. It is reported to emit about 80 grams of gold each day, valued at about 6,000 US dollars per day and about 2.19 million US dollars per year, occurring as microscopic crystals up to about 60 micrometres across. The gold-crystal phenomenon was first documented in a 1991 paper in Geophysical Research Letters, and scientists have not established a single confirmed mechanism for the crystals' formation.

Key Facts & Details

9 points

1
Mount Erebus is an active volcano on Ross Island in East Antarctica, about 1,350 km from the South Pole.
2
It is the southernmost active volcano on Earth and has been continuously erupting since 1972.
3
The volcano releases microscopic crystals of elemental gold that can travel up to 1,000 km.
4
It is one of the few volcanoes with a permanent lava lake.
5
It emits about 80 grams of gold daily, valued at about 6,000 US dollars per day and about 2.19 million US dollars per year.
6
The gold crystals measure up to about 60 micrometres and were first documented in a 1991 paper in Geophysical Research Letters.

Deep Dive

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Scientists have not established a single confirmed mechanism; one theory links crystals to volatile chlorine- or sulfur-bearing compounds, another to formation on the lava lake surface.
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Mount Erebus is the only known volcano that consistently emits crystals of elemental gold.
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The crystals' microscopic size and wide dispersal across Antarctic ice make recovery impractical and economically unviable.

Exam Focus

Examiners may ask which volcano emits gold crystals (Mount Erebus), the continent it is on (Antarctica), or since when it has been continuously erupting (1972).

Exam Relevance & Angle

Mount Erebus is a unique geological phenomenon — the only volcano known to consistently emit elemental gold crystals. Its permanent lava lake and continuous activity make it an important natural laboratory for volcanology and atmospheric transport studies.

Target Exams

UPSC CSESSC CGLRRB NTPCState PCS

Background & Context

Mount Erebus, on Ross Island in Antarctica, is the world's southernmost active volcano and one of only a handful with a persistent lava lake. Named after a British research ship, it has erupted continuously since 1972. Volcanoes emit gases and fine particulates; Erebus is unusual for releasing microscopic elemental gold crystals dispersed by air currents over Antarctic ice. A micrometre is one-millionth of a metre. The phenomenon, first reported in Geophysical Research Letters in 1991, remains scientifically intriguing because no single formation mechanism has been confirmed.