GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 625 

Gold Content of Water, 

Plants, and Animals 

Gold Content of Water, 

Plants, and Animals 

By Robert S. Jones 

G E 0 L 0 G I C A L S U R V E Y C I R C U L A R 625 

Washington 1970 
United States Department of the Interior 

ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary 

Geological Survey 

V. E. McKelvey, Director 

First printing 1970 

Second printing 1973 

Free on application to the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 20244 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Abstract------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 IntroducUon_______________________________________________________________ 1 

Gold content of water ______________________________________ - ___ - ___ -________ 1 

Seawater-------------------------------------------------------------- 1 FreSh surface water ____________________________________ - __ -- __ --_-_-____ 3 

Groundwater---------------------------------------------------------- 3 Summary _____________________________________ --·- _____ -----____________ 4 

Gold content of plants____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 

Algae------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 

Fungi----------------------------------------------------------------- 4 

LiChens---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 ~osses---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 

Jlerbs----------------------------------------------------------------- 10 

Shrubs---------------------------------------------------------------- 10 

~ees------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 

SummarY-------------------------------------------------------------- 10 

Gold content of animals----------------------------------------------------- 11 

SummarY-------------------------------------------------------------- 13 References cited____________________________________________________________ 13 

TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. Gold content of seas------------------------------------------------ 2 

2. Gold content of plants---------------------------------------------- 5 

3. Gold content of marine animals-------------------------------------- 12 

UI 

GOLD CONTENT OF WATER, PLANTS, AND ANIMALS 

By RoBERT S. JoNES 

ABSTRACT 

Sea water contains from 0.001 to 44 ppb (parts per 

billion) gold. The amounts of gold in fresh surface waters 

and ground waters are also within this range. The average 

amount of gold in sea water as calculated from neutron 

activation analyses is 0.05 ppb. 

The maximum amount of gold detected in plant ash 

by neutron activation methods is 36 ppm (parts per million) 

and the average is about 7 ppm. This average, if correct, 

greatly exceeds the average concentration of gold in the 

earth's crust. 

The gold content of dry matter in animals as determined by neutron activation methods ranges from 0.0012 

to 430 ppb. On the basis of scanty analyses, terrestrial 

plants and animals appear to contain more gold than 

marine plants and animals. 

INTRODUCTION 

This report on the gold content of water, plants, 

and animals is one of four that summarizes available data on the occurrence of gold. The other 

reports are on gold in the earth's crust, in rocks, 

and in minerals (Jones, 1968, 1969; Jones and 

Fleischer, 1969). They have been prepared as 

background material for the Heavy Metals program of the U.S. Geological Survey, an intensified 

program of research on new sources of heavy 

metals, including gold. 

Data on the gold content of ocean waters and of 

fresh waters, as well as on the gold content of 

various plants and animals, are summarized and 

collated. Conclusions drawn from the data must 

be tentative because of lack of standardization 

among analytical techniques. 

GOLD CONTENT OF WATER 

The concentration of gold in the hydrosphere 

is not likely to exceed 0.01 ppb (part per billion), 

according to Zvyagintzev ( 1941), but this amount 

seems to be nearer an average value than an upper 

limit. It is appreciably lower than the range from 

1 

1 to 6 ppb given as the average gold content of 

the earth's crust (Jones, 1968). 

SEA WATER 

Sonstadt ( 1872) was the first to make analyses 

of sea water for gold and gave three methods for 

doing so, but he obtained evidence of gold in sea 

water by only one of them. Since then man has 

dreamed of economically extracting gold from sea 

water. Probably the foremost of the analysts was 

Haber ( 1927, 1928) who devoted many months 

of research to this problem, only to foresake it 

when he realized from the analyses of a large 

number of samples of sea water that its gold 

content was very much less than had been previously reported. The amount of gold per cubic 

meter of sea water is minute and, according to 

Haber ( 1928), as based on the analyses of 1,635 

samples taken at 186 stations across the South 

Atlantic Ocean (table 1), is 0.004 ppb. The amount 

of gold in sea water is estimated to be 27.4 million 

tons (Friedensburg, 1953). 

The analyses of gold in sea water are given in 

table 1. Analyses made prior to 1927 are not 

included, but those who wish to refer to these 

can consult the works of Sondstadt ( 1872), Pack 

( 1898), Liversidge ( 1897), Don ( 1898), Wagoner 

(1901), DeWilde (1905), and Koch (1918). 

The seas and oceans contain varying concentrations of gold. For instance, the South Atlantic 

Ocean has been considered by Haber to be gold 

poor when compared to the amount in the other 

seas and oceans. Haber found at least ten times 

more gold for a given volume of water in the North 

Atlantic Ocean than he did in the South Atlantic 

Ocean. Other workers have also found a higher 

average amount (table 1). Not only do the oceans 
TABLE 1.-Gold content of seas 

Sea 

Gold content (ppb) 

Range Average Sampling locality Reference Remarks 

.!tlantlc. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ <1 Brittany coast oft Porspodere _______________ Gourevitch 

(1933). Do _______ ------_______________ 1 d'Ouessant Island __________________ -------- ______ do ____________ . 

Do·--------------------------- 2. 25 LaUif22' N.; long 3"40' W ------------------ Haber (1927). Do____________________________ 4.1 Lat41f22' N.; long 1S010' w ______________________ do ____________ _ Do ••••. _______________________ • 008 Gullmarfjord ... ____________________________ . Noddaek and Method of analysis: preconcentration, specNoddaek (1939). trographic. Sample taken in shallow water . Do _____ --------- 0. 015-0.508 . 139 British coast near Portland __________________ Hummel (1967) ____ MethOd of analyses: neutron activation on untreated water. Sampling depths from 

Do surface to 50 m. 29 samples • _____________ _ . o1o- • 021 . 015 Northwest limit of Bay of Biscay at lat _____ dO------------- Method of analyses: neutron activation Otl 

46"30' N.; long SOOO' W. untreated water. Sampling depths from 

surface to approximately 600 m. 3 samples. DO---------------------------- . 25 2 km from Funchal, Madeira Islands ________ Glazunov (1929). DO---------------------------- .. OM Between Africa and South America _________ Haber (1928) ______ During the cruise of the "Meteor," 1,635 

samples were taken . . 008 AlonglatW S------------------------------ Haber (1927) ______ 36 samples. 5. 79 Near Newfoundland Banks ______________________ do _____________ 5samples. Do______________ .001- .044 

DO-------------- 2.88 -8.46 Arctic_______________ .016- .128 . M Lat 73"36' to 74°52' N.; long 12"26' to 2ij000' ••••• dO-------------

W. 

DO-------------- • 009- .186 • M7 Lat61°19' to 00053' N.; long4°43' to24°31' W •..•.•• do ____________ _ 

MedYt~e&n:::::: J~:ra} 07j"iiei~~ii-(iihr8iiar-8fi(iLtSbOii::::::::::::::·star~ (i943)::::::: ~~~rr.:~;;:s~ 3:esura:; i:d mim-ographic. DO-------------- .31- .94 .4 Between Gibralt.u- and Genoa ___________________ do_____________ Do. 

Do __________ ---- . 05 -1.51 Coast of Corsica __________ ---------------------..• do_____________ Do. 

Do __________ ---- • 21 - . 61 Monaco Coast ____________ ------------------------dO.------------ Do. 

Adriatic____________ .009- .020 .02 Coast between Venice and Fiume ________________ dO------------- Do. 

Pacific •••... ________ . 003- • 029 • 01 San Francisco Bay near Sausalito .•. -------. Haber (1927). Do ______ -------- .002- .055 .015 San Francisco Bay near Oakland (Jetty) _________ do ____________ _ Do ______ -------- <.1 ---------- 15 nautical miles oft California coast _________ Claude (1936) _____ Position along coast not given. A number of 

samples were· probably taken along the coast and about 15 miles out. Do ______ ---------------------- .068 40miles west of San Francisco _______________ Weiss and Lai Method of analysis: organic coprecipitation, (1963). colorimetric checked with radioactive 

tracers • 

Do •.•• ---------- Trace-. 25 • 08 Washington coast (Pnget Sound) ____________ Caldwell (1938) ____ Depth 180m. 

(about) 

Do ••.• ---------- . 375,1 .69 Washington coast (Strait of San luan de ..... do ____________ _ Fuca). 

Do .••. ---------- 5.1,44 24.5 Washington coast (Copalis Beach and Putnam (1953) ____ Method of analysis: electrolysis. MutiriyBay). Do ____ ---------- .175- . 30 . 23 Oregon coast (Waconda Beach) ______________ Caldwell (1938). Do ____ ------------------------ 3 lapanese coast (Tokyo Bay) ________________ Yasuda (1927, 

1928). 

E~:::: :::::::::=============== ~ J:g::: =t ~~~~~~~>======:::::::::::~~::::::::::::: . Do .••. ---------- . 006- .429 ---------- lapanese coast (East of Honshu Island) _____ Oka, Kato, and Method of analysis: neutron act1vation. 7 

and seas vary in the amount of gold that they 

contain, but so do samples taken simultaneously 

"side by side" (Hummel, 1957). 

Haber {1927), probably hoping to find larger 

amounts of gold in sea water near goldfields, 

analyzed more than 100 samples of sea water from 

San Francisco Bay, just off Sausalito and Oakland. 

The waters near Oakland contained as much as 

0.055 ppb and had a median value of 0.012 ppb 

gold. The time of day that the samples were taken 

and the ebb and flow of the tide seemed to be insignificant factors in the amount of gold found in 

the analyzed sea water. Farther from shore, 40 

miles west of San Francisco, the ocean water 

contained 0.068 ppb gold (Weiss and Lai, 1963). 

Hummel (1957) found 0~015 to 0.5 ppb gold 

in sea water; Caldwell (1938), Stark (1943), and 

Putnam {1953) obtained values of from 0.02 to 44 

ppb (table 1). Caldwell {1938) concluded that 

there is a maximum of about 0.1 to 0.2 ppb gold 

in the sea water off the Oregon coast or in Puget • 

Sound (Washington). However, these figures 

might be low considering the values given by 

2 

Sasaki (19M). samples taken from depths of 100 to 200m, 

and 14 surface samples. 

Putnam. Stark noted that sample3 of water from 

the Adriatic Sea contained an average of 0.02 ppb 

gold and from the Mediterranean Sea, 0.4 ppb. 

The maximum amount of gold in sea water 

obtained off the Iberian coast was almost 2 ppb. 

Sea water off the coast of eastern Japan has 

been taken from various depths and analyzed 

for gold by the neutron flux method (Oka, Kato, 

and Sasaki, 1964). The amount of gold found 

ranged from 0.006 to 0.429 ppb. The content 

varied in different places, but the amount of gold 

in deeper waters was somewhat less than that 

found in surface waters. Where cold and relatively 

warm waters mingled, such as the cold Kuril 

current (Oya Shio) with the warmer Black current 

(Kuro Shio) (Zenkevitch, 1963), the gold content 

was relatively high. Analyses from other places 

near the Japanese coast indicated the gold content 

of sea water ranged from 3 to 20 ppb (Gmelin, 

1954, p. 125-130). 

In one locality, during a spring bloom of phytoplankton, a decrease of about 15 percent in 
dissolved silicate contents occurred, and the gold 

contents decreased 60 percent (Hummel, 1957). 

Peshchevitskii, Anoshin, land Erenburg (1965) 

believe that gold in sea w4ter is present mostly 

in the form of the comj>lex anion (AuCl;), 

although this was contrao/ to Haber's {1928) 

conclusion th~t gold was ~ociated with particulate matter. Schutz and Tutekian {1965) question 

Haber's conclusion stating: I "The precision of his 

(Haber's) determination of four centrifuged samples was no better than on lthe original water, so 

the association of gold wi~h particulate matter 

does not seem to be the primary contribution to 

analytical variance in his m~thod." 

Hummd ( 1957), though; believes that gold 

concentration tends to decr~ase away from shore 

and agrees with Haber that! the gold is associated 

with particulate matter bec~use of the inconsistent variability of gold content with depth from 

the surface of the water ddwnward and also the 

decrease in the gold cont1nts as samples are 

obtained progressively fart~er from shore. ' 

I 

FRESH SURFACE! WATER 

River waters have been cqnsidered as being too 

low in gold content to mak~ them worthwhile as 

a tool for geochemical prqspecting for gold in 

gold-bearing regions (Konov)alov, 1941), although 

Kropachev {1935) consider~ values of 0.06 ppb 

and more gold in water as peing useful for prospecting purposes. In the rivers of the Irkutsk 

region and Transbaikal, ~he gold values are 

mostly from 0.01 to 0.09 ppb, in the Krestovka 

0.016 ppb, the Zarca 0.33 ppb, the Unda 1.7 ppb, 

the Gazimur 4.7 ppb, and w~ter from Lake Baikal 

at the mouth of the Krest~vka Riv~r 0.12 ppb 

(Kropachev, 1935). Sample~ of water from the 

Sutar River contained 0.005 to 0.01 ppb of gold 

and averaged 0.03 ppb (Ko~ovalov, 1941). Rhine 

River waters near Karlsruhe averaged 0.0039 

ppb gold, near Leverkusen ! 0.0027 ppb of gold, 

and near Schopfstallen, O.Ob3 ppb gold (Haber 

and Jaenicke, 1925). Fische~ (1966) found 2 ppb 

gold in unfiltered Saale Riv~r water and 0.1 ppm 

{part per million) gold in thb suspended matter. I 

GROUND WAi-ER I 

Thermal waters rising fr4m great depths are 

known to contain gold. Th~ gold content in the 

deep waters of the Comsto4k Lode, whose temperatures vary from 116° to! 170°F, is 0.298 ppb 

(Lincoln, 1911). Vadose water at the Comstock 

Lode contains both gold all.d silver in solution. ! 

3 

Studies of gold in hot springs of Beppu (Jr,pan) 

were made by Koga (1960, 1961). The average 

gold content of 27 springs was 0.53 ppb, ranging 

from 0.5 to 2.2 ppb gold. At the Motoyu spring 

at Nasu (Japan) is deposited a yellow precipitate 

which contained 1 to 10 ppm gold (Ikeda, 1955b). 

The gold content of some acid spring waters is 

less than 0.01 ppb (Ikeda, 1955a). 

At Lake Taupo, New Zealand, sinter deposited 

by existing hot springs yielded 0.94 ppm gold. 

Maclaren (1906) noted that some siliceous sinter 

from Whakarewarewa south of Rotorua, New 

Zealand, contained about 1 ppm gold, whereas a 

nearby sulfurous sinter contained about 2 ppm. 

Grange (1937) reported 2 ppm gold and 120 ppm 

silver in the sinter from Whakarewarewa. The 

metal content of precipitates in some hot springs 

and boreholes in New Zealand ranged from < 1 

to 85 ppm gold and from < 5 to 500 ppm silver 

(Weissberg, 1969). One of these springs, the 

Champagne Pool at W aiotapu, whose source is 

possibly as deep as 1.5 to 3 kilometers, has an 

areal extent of 7,000 square meters, a surface 

temperature of 70° to 75° C, and a pH ranging 

from 4.9 to 6.5. Samples of its sinter contained 

80 ppm gold and 175 ppm silver. The gold content 

of the hot waters from another spring was ~ 0.04 

ppb and from one borehole was 0.04 ppb. Analyses 

of sinter from Steamboat Springs, Nev., have 

been reported as 1 ppm gold (Becker, 1888) and 

as 10 ppm gold and 400 ppm silver (White, 1967). 

At Boulder, Mont., a vein filling deposited by an 

existing hot spring contained 0. 768 ppm gold; at 

Anaconda, Mont., the gold content of a ferruginous tufa deposited by an existing hot spring 

varied from 0.83 to 2.49 ppm; and at Ojo Caliente, 

N. Mex., a calcareous tufa deposited by an 

existing hot spring yielded 0.042 ppm gold 

(Lincoln, 1911). A water sample from the Great 

Salt Lake contained an equivalent of 0.032 ppm 

gold (Lincoln, 1911). Because some of the foregoing analyses were made before about 1928, 

prior to the development of modern analytical 

techniques for gold, it is possible that some of 

them may be inaccurate . (Coates, 1939). 

Waters flowing through mines in the Aldan 

Shield of the southern Yakut, U.S.S.R., contained 

an average of 0.7 ppb gold, and stagnant mine 

water contained 0.9 ppb gold (Razin and Rozhkov, 

1963). In other ground waters the minimum 

amount of gold as determined by Landstrom and 

Wenner (1965), using neutron-activation method 

of analysis, was 0.001 ppb. 
SUMMARY 

The amount of gold found dissolved in sea water 

ranges from 0.001 to 44 ppb. The amount of gold 

commonly found in ground waters and river waters 

is also within this range. The amount of gold in 

sea water, as determined by neutron-activation 

methods, averaged about 0.05 ppb in contrast to 

the 0.004 ppb reported in the older work of Haber 

(1928) and appears to be highest near the continents and lowest in the deep ocean. A few 

analyses of spring waters show that the gold 

ranges from 0.01 to 2.2 ppb and averages about 

0.5 ppb. Other ground waters contained from 0.001 

to 0.9 ppb gold. River waters contained from 0.003 

to 4.7 ppb gold. Zvyagintzev (1941) has stated 

that the amount of gold in the hydrosphere is not 

likely to exceed 0.01 ppb. In view of the foregoing 

values this is low. 

GOLD CONTENT OF PLANTS 

One of the oldest references to the occurrence of 

gold in plants was by Malte-Brun (1847) who referred to the work of Sage, Berthollet, Rouelle, 

Darcet, and Deyeux. Berthollet was reported to 

have extracted about 44 ppm gold from the ashes 

of vegetables. 

Zvyagintzev (1941) thought that plant-root 

secretions and humic acids should definitely act 

as solvents for gold, and that this solubilization 

is the first process leading to the uptake of gold 

in plants. After the death of the plants, metals 

are retained in the humus (Malyuga, 1964; 

Curtin and others, 1968). Deul {1958) found gold 

in the ash of the humic acid fractions of peat. He 

did not detect it in plant ashes, in the whole 

peat ash, or in any other fraction that he separated from the peat. In seven samples Deul 

obtained from 1 to 10 ppm gold in the ash of the 

humic acid extract. Bouska, Havlena, and Sulcek 

( 1963) in their observations on coal concluded 

that gold is bound predominantly, although not 

exclusively, to the organic part of coal. 

The gold content of plants is given in table 2. 

The amount of gold is reported in the plant ash 

or in the dry plant. Also given are the ash contents 

of many of these plants and the amount of gold 

found in the soil near the plant. The values for 

gold in soil given by Razin and Rozhkov {1966) 

are the maximum values found and usually are 

of the C horizon of the soil. The nonvascular 

plants have been divided into algae, fungi, lichens, 

and mosses and the vascular plants into herbs 

{grasses and sedges, and forbs), shrubs, and trees. 

Most analyses given in table 2 are of vascular 

plants. 

Some workers have noted that plants have a 

higher metal content at certain times of the year. 

Malyuga ( 1964) commented that toward autumn 

the leaves of trees have two to three times as 

much nickel, cobalt, and copper as they have 

during the spring. By contrast, Aripova and 

Talipov ( 1966) reported that the ash of wormwood 

(Artemisia) contained from 10 to 20 times more 

gold, copper, lead, and chromium in May than 

in October and that these metals are especially 

accumulated in plants in desert regions. 

ALGAE 

The ash of several marine algae have been 

analyzed for gold (table 2). Stark {1943) found 

1. 7 ppm gold in the ash of unspecified seaweeds 

from an unspecified locality. By contrast, Fukai 

and Meinke {1962) using activation methods of 

analysis, reported 0.00015 and 0.00093 ppm gold 

in the ash of two samples of sea lettuce, Ulva sp. 

In the dry matter of these samples, one from 

Tokyo Bay, Japan and the other from Sagamu 

Bay, Japan, the amount of gold in one sample was 

0.000035 ppm and, in the other, 0.00021 ppm. It is 

notable that these values are within the range of 

0.000006 ppm to 0.000429 ppm gold found in sea 

water (table 1) east of Honshu Island, Japan by 

Oka, Kato, and Sasaki (1964) who also used 

neutron-activation methods of analysis. Because 

of this, and the fact that the gold in the ash of the 

two plants is about one order of magnitude less 

than the amount of gold given for the earth's 

crust (Jones, 1968), sea lettuce does not appear 

to be an accumulator of gold. 

FUNGI 

Fungi are known to contain from trace amounts 

to 11.6 ppm gold in their ash. Those containing 

1 ppm or more are all Boletus. 

LICHENS 

4 

The ashes of three lichens, Oladonia alpestris, 

Oladonia gracilis, and Peltigera aphthosa averaged 

1.0, 1.3, and 1.0 ppm gold, respectively. The 

amount of gold in the ashes of these plants averages twice the amount of that in the soil. 

MOSSES 

Although Shacklette (1965) found no gold in 

an unspecified number of liverworts and mosses, 

Razin and Rozhkov (1966) recorded from 0 to 

19.2 ppm gold in the ashes of mosses which they 

analyzed. No gold was detected in Sphagnum 

fimbriatum and a sample of Aulacomnium palustre. 

In table 2 the maximum amount of gold reported 
TABLE 2 .-Gold content of plants 

[ Some results were reported as 0 ppm gold; however, gold was probably present but not in sufficient amount for detection. In remarks column, number in 

parentheses is the amount of gold, in parts per million, in the soU near the plant) 

Organism 

"Seaweed".------------------------

UltNJ sp. (sea lettuce)._-------------

Do •• ---------------------------

Bolttu1 bulboltu ____________________ _ 

BoltttU edulil. ----------------------

BoltttU lutef.U. ----------------------

Content in 

ash (ppm) Sampling locality Reference 

NONVASCULAR PLANTS 

Alpe 

Remarks 

1. 7 ------------------------------ Stark (1943) _______________ In dry material, 0.17 ppm. • 00093 Sagamu Bay, Japan _________ Fukai and Meinke (1962) •• In dry matter, 0.00021 ppm. . 00015 Urayasa, Tokyo Bay, •..•• do ____________________ In dry matter, 0.000035 ppm. 

11.6 

1.0 

1.0 

Japan. 

Fan11 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia ••..• BabJ~ka (1943)------------ Ash, 6.79 percent. ..••• do ••• ------------------------do.------------------- Ash, 6.51 percent. Yakut, U.S.S.R ____________ Razin and Rozhkov Ash, 1.15 percent. 

(1966). 

BoltttU rufu•------------------------ 1. 3 •••• do. ---------------------------do •••••.• ------------- Ash, 0.4 percent. Do •• --------------------------- Trace Oslany, Czechoslovakia ••••• Babieka (1943)------------ BoltttU Beaber __ --------------------------do. ____________ do .• _-------------- __________ do ••• ----------------- BolttuB varlegattU. _ ----------------- 1. 7 Yakut, U.S.S.R.----------- Razin and Rozhkov Ash, 0.60 percent. (1966). MorcheUaconica.,_____________________ Trace Oslany, Czechoslovakia _____ Babi&a (1943) ___________ _ PolvporuB /OfllentaritU •• ________________ •• do. ___________ .do ••• ---- _________________ ••• do ••• __ --_----_----- __ 

Cladonia alputril (L.) Raben. (rein- deer lichen). 

Cladonia graciliB (L.) Willd. (rein- deer lichen). 

Peltfgera aphthOBa (L.) Hotlm. (dog lichen). 

AulacOflltdum palf.Utre (Hedw.) Schwaegr. Camf)tothecium niten1 (Schreb.) Sclipr. 

rg,~r::u~;~bo;;u;n--ii~--:Br~- (haircap moss). 

Sp=um ftmbriatum Wllson 

(sp um). 

AgrOBtil alba L. (Redtop bentgrass) __ 

AgrOBtiB trinii Tore 3----------------

CalamagrOBtil langadorf]ii (Link) Trio. (bluejoint gr-ss). 

CalamagrOBtil lapponica (Wahl.) 

Hartm. 

Caru sp. (sedge) ___________________ _ 

Carez pedi/ormil C.A.M ____________ _ 

Carez vanheurkii MuelL ____________ _ 

Hordeum brevilubulatum (Trin.) Link 

(barley). 

Zeama111 (corn>--------------------- Achillea millefolium L. (common yarrow). 

Antennarladioica (L.) Gaertn. (com- mon pussytoes). AnthriBCUB BilvutriB (chervil) _______ _ 

Arctou1 ert~throcarpa Small. (redfruit ptarmigan berry). 

Artemilia tntlgaril L. sensu lat. (mug- wort). A1arum europaeum (wild ginger) ___ _ Atragene ochotemil Pall. (clematJs) •• 

Chamaenerlon anguBti/olium (L.) Scop. (fireweed). 

Corvdalil wonii/olia (Steph.) Pers. 

(fumitory). Cr11Ptodilcul didvmu•------ _________ _ 

368-755 0 - 70 - 2 

1.0 

1.3 

1.0 

~10.7 

10.7 

19.2 

.3 

0 

.005 

.003 

.1-1.0 

0-8.6 

.006-.8 

• 06-2.4 

.003 

1.~2.0 

0 

1.0 

Lichens 

Yakut, U.S.S.R •• _--------- Razin and Rozhkov 2 samples of entire plant. Au in ppm, 0.7 and 

_____ do •• -----------------------~~:S~: __________________ E~~tr:·~~~~~n:S~ri~ ~i(~1la percent. (0.2). _____ do. --------------------------do.------------------- 2 samples of entire plant. Au in ppm, 0.6 and 

1.3; ash, 0.80 and 1.02 percent, respectively. (0.5). 

Moaaea 

Yakut, U.S.S.R ••. --------- Razin and Rozhkov 7 samples of the entire plant. Ash, 0.46-10.76 

(1966). percent. (U). •.... do._ -------------------------do ____________________ Entire plant with an ash content of 0.50 

percent. (1.7). 

=====~~= ==========================~~:::::::::::::::::::: !:~: ~:l,g r:::t: ~~:~~: _____ do ___________________________ do ____________________ Ash, 0.66 percent. (Trace t). 

VASCULAR PLANTS 

Her~~and~l• 

Yakut, U.S.S.R.----------- Ra.zinandRozhkov Stemst leaves, and fruit.Ash,1.76 percent (1966). (0.2}. _____ dO------------------------ __ .dO-------------------- Entire pl<~nt. Ash, 41.93 percent (probably in 

errGr). (0.4) • ..... dO---------------------------do ____________________ 9 samples of entire plant. Ash, in percent, 

1.33-6.50, average, 3.39. (4.5). _____ do. __________________________ do. _________________ .• 1~ samples.ll samples of entire plant with Au 

in ppm, ~. 4; ash, in percent, 1. 49-5. M, 

average, 3. 2. 3 samples of entire plant 

except roots, Au in ppm, 0. 02-8. 6; ash, in 

percent, 0. 63-1. 8, average, L 1. (8. 0). 

-----dO----------------------------dO--------------------- 2 samples of leaves, stems, and fruit. Ash, 3. 79 percent in sample containing 0. 006 

ppm Au. (0. 5). 

_____ dO----------------------------dO--------------------- 3 ~J~~er!~~ ~~t·~~ie ~::=~ 

0. 9 ppm Au. (2. 5). · 

-----dO---------------------------dO--------------------- Ash content of entire plant, 17.17 percent. (0. 2). 

-----dO----------------------------dO--------------------- Stem and leaves. Ash, 2.32 percent. (0.2). 

Herbs-Forbe 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia _____ BabU!ka (1943).----------- 3 samples. Yakut, U.S.S.R. ___________ Razin and Rozhkov Ash, 2.0 percent. (0.2). 

(1966). -----dO----------------------------do. ____________________ Entire plant. Ash, 12.0 percent. (1.0). 

4.36 Oslany, Czechoslovakia _____ Babi~ka, (1943)------------ • 05 Yakut, u.s.s.R ____________ Razin and Rozhkov Entire plant. Ash, 0.8 percent. (0.5). 

(1966) • • 003 _____ do ____________________________ dO---------------------- Entire plant. Ash, 5.47 percent. (0.2). 

10 

1.0 

~5 

3.3 

1.5 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia _____ Babi~ka (1943>------------ Yakut, U.S.S.R. ___________ Razin and Rozhkov Entire plant except roots. Ash, 2.62 percent. 

(1966). (U). _____ do __________________________ dO--------------------- Also known as Epilobium angu~tifolium L. 

15 sampleE .. 13 samples of entire plant have an Au co;1tent of ~.3 ppm and an ash content of 0.87-5.53 percent, which ll.verages 2.~ percen1;. 2 samples of entire plant except roots contain 5.0 and 4.6 ppm Au and 0.24 

and 0.31 percent ash, respectively. (8.0). _____ do ____________________________ do •.•. ----------------- 2 samples. Entire plant except roots. Ash, 

1.0 percent. (3.0). Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R _______ Khotamov, Lobanov, and From a dry plant with an ash content of 7.5 

Kist (1966). percent. For air-dried wei.Kht, the Au 

content, in ppm, Js: seeds, 0.05; seed pods, 0.05; stems, 0.1; and roots, 0.05. Analyses by neutron activation. (0.2 ppm or less). 

5 
TABLE 2.--Golcl content of plants-Continued 

Organjsm 

Datura atramonium (JJmson weed)_. 

Equfletum sp. (horsetall) •••.•.•.•..• 

Do ••••.••.•••••••.•••••••••.••.• 

Equfletum SP------------------------

Do .••..••.. ---------------------

Do ••.•••... ---------- ____ -------

Equfletum at11m1e ••••••••••••••••••• Do •••.•.••...•..••..• __ . __ . __ .. _ 

Do •••• --------- __ --------------. 

Do •••••. ------------------------

Do ••••••• ----------...• --------. 

Do ••••.••••......••...•...•••••• 

Do ..... ------------------------- Do _______ --.. ------ ________ -----

Do ••••.• -----------------------. 

Do •••••. ---.. ------- ___________ _ 

Do •••••. ----------- ____________ _ Do ••••• __ --.. _ ••.. ___ . _______ • __ 

DO------------------------------

Do .•••• --•• ----. _____ ---- ___ ..• _ Equfletum Aremale var. robtutum ..•• 

Equfletum limoaum ________________ _ 

Do .••••. --------- ____ ----- _____ _ 

Equi1etum littorale •••••• _ •••• _._. ___ _ 

Equfletum paluatre L---------------

Content in 

ash (ppm) 

20.2 

.34 

.17 

.34 

.33 

.2 

.1 

.2 

.1 

<.1 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.2 

.4 

.1 

16 

63 • 4 

• 4 

.6 

• 1 

610 

Do------------------------------ Trace-. 7 

Equiletumpratenu Ehrh____________ Ch2 

DO------------------------------ .1 

Do------------------------------ .1 

Equfletum "lfXJtieum................ .2 

Do ..... ------------------------. . 4 

Equfletum tJariegatum ______ --------- • 2 

Erigeron jfaccldu• Botsch____________ o 

IrflletoltJ Pall. (Arctic Iris) ______ •• _ o 

Leuco}u.m aeatifJum Zwiebel (summer 16 

snowflake). 

Linnaea boreali• IJ. (twinftower)..... o-3. o 

Lpcopodium ancep• Wallr. (clnb- .1-. 3 

moss). 

Lpcopodium annotinum.............. • 6 Lpcopodium clauatum L ••••••... ____ . 6 

Maiantlltmum bifolium (L.) Fr. 1. 6 Schmidt (twoleaf beadmby). 

Mentha a~n•fl (com mint).......... 300 

Nartlomia/riglda (L.) Hook........ o 

Parfl guatlr~oliG var. obotlata Ldg.... o 

Petlfeulsrfl bradoricG Wirsing........ • 6 PrrolG incornatG Fisch __ •..••• _____ . . 03 

Polemonium liniftorum V. Vassll..... 2. 6 

8allola srbu.mdi/ormfl_______________ 2. 6 

8allolG corinGts (Russian thistle).... 1. 6 

Sampling locaUty Reference Remarks 

VASCULAR PLANTs-Continued 

H•INI-I'orbfi-Contlnaed 

Gross Bchiittinsel, Czecho- Babi&a (1943).----------- Ash, 2.34 percent. (0.6). 

slovakia. 

North Fork of Watson Bar Warren and Delavault Ash, 16.70 percent. Plant was sampled from 

Creek! British Columbia, {1960). an auriferous area with an overburden of c~. w~ ••••• do ____________________________ do •••• ----------------- Ash, 17.20 percent. Plant sampled from an 

auriferous area with anoverbtfrden of H ft • 

••.•• do ___________________________ do.-------------------- ~~=s~!:ttt~t ::=C~e~: ~ 

ft • •...• do ____________________________ do •• ------------------- Ash, 22.76 percent. Plant sampled from an 

auriferous area with an overburden of H ft. Banta Fe Creek, Santa Fe Cannon, Shaeklette, and Ash, 30.7 percent. 

County, New Mexico. Bastron (1968). 

Ely, Orange County, Vt ••••.•••• dO--------------------- Ash, 33.7 percent. Plant on tailinJrs from ore. 

•••.• dO----------------------------do ••••• ---------------- As:r~~-Plant near shad on undisWarren, Grafton County, ••..• do ••••• ---------------- Ash, 36.9 percent. Plant on talllngs. N.H • 

••••• dO---------------------------dO.-------------------- Ash, 33.2 percent. Plant on outcrop of schist. 

Franklin, Sussex County, 

N.J. 

Vaucluse, Orange Connty, 

Va. 

•..•• dO--------------------- Ash, 18.6 percent. Plant on limestone mine 

dump. _ .••• do __________ ----------- Ash, 21 percent. 

Blanding, Grafton County, •..•• dO--------------------- Ash, 22.6 percent. Collected over schists. 

N.H. 

Climax, Lake County, Colo •...•• dO--------------------- Ash, 18.9 percent. Plant below upper tailings pond. 

Black Hawk, Gilpin •...• dO--------------------- ASh, 2!J.4 percent. Plant on alluvium below 

County, Colo. BJSCK Cat mine. _ .•.• do ••••. --------- __ ------ ____ •• do ____________ --------· Ash, 29.2 percent. Plant growing above quartz 

veins. 

McGrath, Alaska. ______________ do ••• -----------------· Ash, 14.8 percent. Plant from muskeg. Red Devil, Alaska _______________ do ••••• ---------------- Asb,24.6pereent. Plant in ravine by mercury 

Gross Schiittinsel, Czechoslovakia. 

smelter. 

Babiaa (1943)------------ (0.2). 

Oslany~.-Czechoslovakla •••••••••• do •••••••••••••••••••.• 60.22 percent of the ash was silica. 

Utley, .Henderson County, Cannon, Shaeklette, and Ash, 16.6 percent • Ky. Bastron (1968). 

McGrath, Alaska ••••...••.••..•.• do ••••• ---------------- Ash, 16.1 percent. Plant from muskeg • Red Devil, Alaska _______________ do •. ------------------- Ash, 14.1 percent. Plant from lake fed by 

drain from abandoned mercury mine. 

Nederland, Bonlder County, ..••. dO--------------------- Ash, 33.3 percent. Plant on mill tailings . Colorado. 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia.____ Babi&a (1943) _........... Ash is 61.20 percent silica. SeeM entha arven1fl. 

(0.2). 

Yakut, U.S.S.R. ___________ Razinand Rozhkov 2 samples of entire plant. Ash, 6.6 and 2.2 

(1966). percent, respectively. (1.7). ___ .• do ••••• _____________________ .• do ••••• ___ .. ---.---.--- 4 =~bY! e~~~ls~~ O~~~~l~_:.I:, 

average 7.6. (2.4). 

Slick Rock, San Miguel Cannon, Shaeklette, and Ash, 24 percent. Plant on river alluvium 

County, Colo. Bastron (1968). below mill. 

Gothenberg,nawson ..•.• dO--------------------- Ash, 38.2 percent. County, Neb. 

McGrath, Alaska-----------------dO--------------------- Ash, 13.2 percent. Plant from muskeg. Red Devil, Alaska _______________ dO--------------------- Ash, 14.6 percent. Plant from loess near mer· curymine. 

Black Canyon Spring, •••.• dO--------------------- Ash, 27.1 percent. Jerome, Yavapai County, 

Ariz. 

Yakut, U.S.S.R.----------- Razin and Rozhkov Ash, 3.62 percent. (Trace a.) 

(1966). _ ..•• dO----------------------------do ••••••.....•.••.....• Stems and leaves. Ash, 2.18 percent. (0.2). 

Gross ScMttinsel, Czeeho- Babi~ka (1943>------------ (0.6). 

slovakia. 

Yakut, U.S.S.R ••••........ Razin and Rozhkov 4 samples. Entire plant. Ash, in percent: (1966). 9.81-11.0, average, 10.3 (4.6). 

••..• dO----------------------------dO--------------------- 2 samples. Ash, in percent, 4.22 and 6.00, respectively. (0.3). _ .... do ••.•. ____________________ .•• do ••.•. _______ .-------- Ash, 4.00 pereentfor entire ~t. (1.9). ) f< 

•..•• do ____________________________ do.-------------------- Ash, 28.02 percent (proba ly in error or 

entire plant. (4.0). 

....• dO----------------------------do .••.•...............• Leaves. Ash, 7.03 percent. (0.3). 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia.__ _ _ Babl~ka (1943) __ .. _ .. _.... Sampled from the same place as an Equfletuin thm 

paluatre which contained 610 ppm Au e ash. (0.2). Yakut, U.S.S.R ____________ Razin and Rozhkov Entire plant. Ash, 6.13 percent. (Trace 1.) 

(1966) • .•.•• dO------------- _______________ dO--------------------- Stems and leaves. Ash, not det;(Tined. l) 

_ .••• dO----------------------------dO--------------------- Entire plant. Ash, 10.17 pereen ( ~· .•... do ____________________________ do ••... ---------------- Entire plant. Ash, 0.47 percent· tg)· -Kyz~~:Kum:. u.s.s::R--~~===:-iiiio~ov; Lc)l)8iiov;aiiti- ~~aP~· ~i~_l~anrc:stgnhht.cothnteAnt of 9.5 

Kist (1966). percent. For Wl~M>U we . e u eon- tent, in ppm, is: leaves, 0.06; terminal 

stems, 0.16; and main stems, 0.1. Analyses by neutron activation. (0.2 ppm or less). 

....• do •... ------------· ·----------do _____________________ F=~o~!J:l~ :::t %~tef! ~~ 

tent, In ppm, is: leaves, 0.02; terminal 

stems, 0.1; main stems, 0.2; and roots, 0.05. 

Analyses by neutron activation. (0.2 ppm 

or less). 

6 
Organism 

StiUolG rfgida (Russian thistle) _____ _ 

Banquflorbo officlnolfl L .•....... 

Tanacdum Df.llgare L. (CODI.IIlon tansy). 

Trifolium prt&teme L. (red clover)_ •• Urtica sp. (nettle>-------------------

Veratrum ozvupalum Turcz. (false hellebore). 

A.lnu.t jrutiCOMJ Rupr. (Manchu alder). 

C'lemt.IU. vitalbG (virgin's bower) ____ _ Do •••• _ .•..• _ ••..•.•. __ •. ______ • 

Do ••••. ---------------- ________ _ Do •••• _._ •• ___ •. _ •... __________ _ 

Do ••••. --•••.•• --.-------•• __ •• _ Cort!lUI tweUilna (hazel nut, filbert). Do .•••. _------- __ ------ ________ _ 

Do ••••.••.. -------- __ -- ________ _ 

COUiinill h~~mlldlu •••. ---------------

Dtufphorll jrutiCOMJ (bush cinquefoil)_ 

Empetrum nigrum (crowberry) ••...• 

Girgemohnill oppoaitiftorll ••••• _ •••.•• 

H11JJlofJArUum robuftum (golden- weed). 

JunipD"u.t communi• (common Juniper). 

Do •.•• _________ ------------ ____ _ 

Do ••••.• _______ ------------ ____ . 

Lagochiliu.t intermediw •••• _______ • __ 

Ledtum palultre L. (crystal tea) ____ _ 

Lonicera llltaica Pall. (honeysuckle). 

TABLE 2.-Gold content of plants-Continued 

Content in 

ash (ppm) 

1.4 

L5 

D-1.96 

1.2 

16.8 

1.7 

D-.9 

800 

1!0 

7 

110 

60 

Trace 

6-9 

~ 

1.0 

1.2 

D-2.5 

2.1 

11.4 

<0.03 

Sampling locaUty Reference 

V ASCULAB PLANT8-Cont1Dae4 

H•be-Porbe-Contlaaed 

Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R •••.••. Kbotamov, Lobanov, 

and Kist (1966). 

Remarks 

From a nearly dry plant with an ash content of 18.0 percent. For air-dried weight the Au 

content, in ppm, Is: leaves, 2.4; terminal 

stems, 0.05; matn stems, 0.02; and roots, 

0.02. Analyses by neutron activation. (0.2 

ppm or less). 

Yaknt, U.S.S.R ••••.••.•••• Razin and Rozhkov Entire plant. Ash, 2.4 percent. (0.2). 

(1966) • 

•..•• dO---------------------------do •• __________________ 5 =~ :~ P!:len~ ~ 9f: :U~~ 

respectively; except roots but including flowers1 the Au, content Is 1.96 ppm, and 

the asn content, 1.2 percent. The Au content of flowers Is 0.5 ppm, and the ash 

content, 6.71 pel'C9tlt. Stems and leaves 

contain no detectable Au and bad an ash content of 2.84 percent. (8.0) • 

••••• dO----------------------------do--------------------- Entire plant. Asti, 6.67 percent. (Trace.) I 

Gross Bcb6ttinsel, Babi~a (1943) •• ---------- (0.85). Czechoslovakia. 

Yakut, U.S.S.R ••••......•• Razin and Rozhkov 

(1966). 

Leaves and roots. 

Shrubs 

Yakut, U.S.S.R ••••.......• Razin and Rozbk:ov 

(1966). 

28 arialyses, ash, 0.3-3.76 percent. 19 analyses of branches with leaves; Au, o-o.m ppm, ash 

0.7-3.76 percent. (1.9). 7 analyses of branches 

only; Au, D-0.005 ppm, ash, 0.3-1.6 percent. 

(3.4). 1 ailalysis of a Seed capsule; Au 0.9 

ppm and ash, 0.91 ~nt. (4.6). 1 an8:lysis of young shoots with leaves and seed 

capsnles; Au, 0.4 ppm and Ash, 0.35 per- cent. (3.2). 

Oslan~ Czechoslovakia •••.• Babi~a (1943) •• ---------- Seeds. 

Enle (Jilove) near Prague, .•.•• dO--------------------- Wood. 

Czechoslovakia. ___ •• do ••••• ___ ------•••• ________ •• do ••••• _ ••• ___ •. __ ----. FrUit. 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia. ---------dO.-------------------- Wood. ___ •• do •••••• __ ••• ___ • _______ .• __ •• do ••••• _._ •• _. __ ---- __ • Fruit. • __ •• do •••••••.••••• __ . __ ._ ••. ___ •• do •••••. __ •. __ •••. __ --_ Wood. 

Eule (Jilove) near Prague, •••.• dO---------------------

Czechoslovakia • •..•• do ••••• -----------------------do ••••••.••.•.••..•...• Sampled from an old gold mine dump(?). Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R ••..... Khotamov, Lobanov, From a dry plant with an ash content of 13.0 

and Kist (1966). percent. For air-dried weight the Au content in ppm Is: leaves, 0.05; upper twigs, 

0.06; stems, 0.05; and roots, 0.06. Analysis by neutron activation. (0.2 ppm or less). Yakut, U.S.S.R •• __________ Razin and Rozbk:ov Entire plant except roots. Known also as (1966}. PotentiUII jrutiCOMJ L. (0.5) • 

.•... do·---------------------------do ••••. ---------------- 5 samples of entire plant. Ash, 0.4-2.88 

percent. (4.0). Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R .•• ____ Kbotamov, Lobanov, Ftom a dry plant with an ash content of 20.0 

and Kist (1966). percent.- For air-dried wemht, the Au 

content, in ppm, Is: leaves, 0.26; terminal 

stems, 0.06; and malo stems, 0.05. Analyses by neutron actlvatit)n. (0.2 P.fm or less). _____ do _______________________ .•• do _____________________ From a fresh plant with an as content of 

7.0 percent. For air-dried weight the Au 

content, in ppm, is: leaves, 0.6; terminal stemst ~:1!5: main stems, 0.05; and roots, 0.02. Analyses by neutron activation. (0.2 

North Fork of Watson Bar Warren and Delavanlt C~~rltish Columbia, (191!0). c . 

ppm or less). 4 composite samples. Dry matter is 4.10 

percent ash. 

Nil •.••• dO----------------------------do •••.••.. ------------- 3 composite samples. Dry matter is 4.68 

percent ash . • 61 ..... do •• --------------------------do •••• _________________ From an anriferous area with an overburden 

36 

D-5.0 

o-3. 5 

of 4-8ft. Ash, 3.25 ~nt (Trace). 

Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R •••.... Kbotamov, Lobanov, and From a fresh plant With an ash content of 

Kist (1966). 15.0 percent. For air-dried weight the Au 

content, in ppm, is: seeds, 0.025; seed pods, 

0.5; leaves, 3.0; term.lnal stems, 0.5; main 

stems, 0.2; and roots, 1.0. Analyses by neutron 

Yakut, U.S.S.R.----------- Razin and Rozbk:ov 

(1966). 

activation. (0.2 ppm or less). 

39 samples. Ash, 0.34-2.53 percent. 29 samples of entire plant; ashl 0.42-2.53 percent, Au, 

D-1.5 ppm in ash. ,2.0). Stems, 6 samples; ash, 0.34-1.51 percent, Au, o-1.2 ppm ln 

ash. (U). Stems with leaves; ash, 0.81 and 

1.0 percen.t, Au, 0.8 and 1.0 ppm ln ~ 

respectively. (2.5). Young shoots with 

leaves and seeds; t\Sh, 1.5 percent, Au, 3.6 

ppmiu ash. (4.7). Roots; ash, 1.52 percent, Au, 5.0 ppm ln ash. (U). _____ do ___________________________ do ____________________ 6 samples with ash from 1.54-7.89 percent. 5 

samples of stems, branches, and leaves; 

ash, 1.54-7.89 percent, Aut o-3.5 ppm is 

ash. (1.9). Au content in asn of berries, 0.7 

ppm. 

7 
Organism 

Nanophrton erinaceum _____________ _ 

Ribu procumbem PaU. (gooseberry)_ 

R01a lldcularil Lindl. (prickly rose). 

R01a canina (dog rose)--------------

Rubtu arcticm L. (Arctic bramble) __ 

Rubtu 1achalinemil LevL _________ _ 

Rubtu 1axatilil L. (stone berry) ____ _ &liz sp. (willow) __________________ _ 

Do. ____________________________ _ 

&liz caprea L-----------------------

&liz ftotlermii NakaL _ -------------

&liz kolrmemil 0. V. Seem ________ _ 

&liz pentandra L. ------------------

&liz viminalil L ___________________ _ 

&liz zeropllila Floder ______________ _ Sorbtu ribirica HedL _______________ _ 

Spiraea media (Fr.) Schmidt (orien- tal spirea). 

Vaccinium mrrtiUUI L. (bilberry, blueberry). 

Vaccinium uligin01um L. (bog bilberry). 

Vaccinium tJitil-id'qea L. (eowberry)_ 

Betula sp. (birch) __________________ _ 

Betula Jrutic01a Pall. (Altai birch) __ 

Betula llrbrida Schneid _____________ _ 

Betula middendorjjii Trautv. et Mey. (Middendortl birch). 

Betula platrpllrUa Sukatch. (Asian white birch). 

Diptrcllocarpul 1trictm ( Ourjunoil tree). 

TABLE 2.-Go7Jl content of plant1-Continued 

Content in 

ash (ppm) 

0.3 

Traeet 

o-2.2 

Sampling locality Reference Remarks 

VASCULAR PLANTB-Continued 

Shrube-Contlaued 

Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R. ______ Khotamov, Lobanov, and From a dry plant with an ash content or 16.0 

Kist (1966). percent. For air-dried weight the Au eon- tent, in ppm, Is: leaves, 0.05; terminal stems, 

0.05; main stems, 0.05; and roots, 0.05. 

Analyses by neutron activation. (0.2 ppm or less). Yakut, U.S.S.R ____________ Razin and Rozhkov Branches. Ash, 1.09 percent. (0.5). 

(1966). 

-----dO--------------------------dO--------------------- 16 samples with an ash content or 0.6-3.89 

percent. 10 samples of the entire plant; ash, 

1.o-3.89 percent, Au, o-2.2 ppm in ash. (1.2). 

3 samples of entire plant without berries; 

ash, 0.8-2.25 percent, Au, 0.04-0.2 ppm in 

ash. (1.9). Berries, ash, 2.64 percent, Au, 

o ppm. (4.5). Plant at surface(?) or ground; 

Trace Gross Schti.ttinsel, Czechoslovakia. 

ash, 0.6 and 0.69 percent, Aul15.0 and 0.7 

ppm in ash, respectively. (8.0J. 

Babi~ka (1943>------------ Hips and wood. 

o-10. 0 

o-2.8 

Yakut, U.S.S. R ____________ Razin and Rozhkov 3 analyses. Entire plant, ash, 0.73-4.4 percent. 

(1966). (4.5). _____ do------------··-------- _______ do _________ ------------ 6 analyses. Entire plant, ash, 1.1-7.03 percent. 

(6.0) . . 15 _____ do ____________________________ do _____________________ Entire plant. Ash, 7.5 percent. (1.9). 

1. 02 North Fork, Watson Bar Warren and Delavault Ash, 2.20 percent. From an auriferous area Creek, British Columbia, (1950). with an overburden or 4-8ft. 

Canada. Nil ...•. do ____________________________ do _____________________ 2 samples. Ash, 6.36 percent. From a nonauriferous area. o, .03 Yakut, U.S.S.R.----------- Razin and Rozhkov 2 samples of branches with leaves. Ash, 2.25 

(1966). percent. (4.5). o-. 005 _____ do ____________________________ do _____________________ 2 samples of branches with leaves. Ash, 0.8 

and 1.83 percent. (0.2) . 0 

o-.02 

0 

0 .4, .6 

0 

0,0.2 

o-4. 6 

o-.8 

• 6 

0 

o-1. 7 

o-2.5 

o-1.3 

. 05-.26 

....• do ___________________________ do _____________________ Branch with leaves. Ash, 1.86 percent. (0.2). 

_____ do ____________________________ do _____________________ 12 samples. Ash, 0.82-4.72 percent. 9 samples 

of branches with leaves; ash 1.41-4.72 percent, Au, o-trace in ash. (0.5). 3 samples of 

branches without leaves; ash, 0.82-1.92 

percent, Au, o-o.06 ppm in ash. (0.5). _ ____ do ____________________________ do _____________________ Branches with leaves; ash, 5.6 percent. (0.2). _____ do ____________________________ do _____________________ Branches with leaves; ash, 1.93 percent (0.6). _____ do ____________________________ do _____________________ Berries; ash, 5.62 percent, Au, 0.4 ppm in 

ash. (1.9). Branches and leaves; Au, 0.6 

ppm in ash. (1.9). _____ do _____ ----------- _______ ...• do .. ------ ____ ---- __ --- Entire plant. Ash, 1.9 percent. (0.2). 

...• do ____________________________ do _____________________ Ash, 4.19 and 10.5 percent, respectively. Entire plant, (1.9). 

---.do _____ ---------------- ___ ---.do _____ -------------- __ 18samples. Ash, 0.6-3.0percent. 14 samples of 

the entire plant; ash, 0.6-3.0 percent, Au, 

o-o.2 ppm in ash. (4.5). Stems and branches; 

ash, 0.65 and 0.82 percent, Au, 0 and 0.004 

ppm in ash, respectively. (Trace 1), Stems 

and roots; ash, 1.0 percent, Au, 0.3 ppm in 

ash, (1.9). Stems, branches, and leaves; ash, 

0.7 percent, Au, 4.6 ppm in ash. (3.2). -----dO--------------------------do _____________________ 17 samples of entire plant; ash, 0.7-4.59 percent, Au, o-o.8 ppm in ash. (2.5). Berries, 

Au, 0.7 ppm in ash. (0.5). 

Trees 

Kuznetsk Ala-Tau, Zvyagintzev (1941) ________ Trunk and branches 1m apart . U.S.S.R. 

Yakut, U.S.S.R. ___________ Razinand Rozhkov 2 samples. Ash, in branches, 0.73 percent. 

(1966). in branches and leaves, 1.82 percent. (0.5)s 

-----dO---------------------------dO-------------------- 17 samples. Ash, 0.5-2.33 percent. 8 sample; of branches with leaves; ash, 0.5-2.2 percent, Au o-1.1 ppm in ash. (3.2). 7 samples of 

branches; ash, 0.5-2.33 percent, Au o-o.005 

ppm in ash. (3.4). 2 samples of leaves; ash, 

2.2 and 2.33 percent, Au 0.1 and 0 ppm in 

ash, respectively, (2.4). --••• do ... -----------------_----.do .. -----_-- ____ ------- 17 samples. Ash, 0.5-3.95 percent. 11 samples of branches and leaves; ash, 0.9-3.95 percent, Au o-2.5 ppm in ash. (4.0). Branches, 6 

samples; ash, 0.5-0.91 percent, Au o-o.005 

ppm in ash. (2.5). ••.. do ____________________________ do _____________________ 7 samples. 6 samples ofbranche.<~ with leaves; 

ash, 0.96-3.24 percent, Au o-1.:1 ppm in ash. 

(4.5). Ash in leaves, 1.86 percent, Au in 

ash, 0.1 ppm. (Trace 1), Kyzyl-Kum, U.S.S.R. ______ Khotamov, Lobanov, From a dry plant with an ash oontent of20.0 

and Kist (1966). percent. For air-dried weight, the Au eon- tent, in ppm, Is: leaves, 0.26; terminal 

stems, 0.05; and main stems, 0.05. (0.2 ppm or less). 

8 
Organism 

[Iron wood].--. 

Lariz dal.urf~ Turcz. (larch) _______ _ 

Piela sp ____ .. ··------------------· 

Do.---------------------------· 

Piela obovata Lab. (Siberian spruce). 

Pinua contorta (lodgepole pine) ...... 

Do._---------------------------

Do._--------------------------- Pinua pon.derO&a (western yellow pine). Do ••• ____________________ .• ___ . 

Do •• _-------···-······--·-··· __ 

Pinua pumila Regel. (Japanese stone pine). 

Pinua ribirica (Rupr.) Mayr. (Sibe- rian pine). 

Pinua arlveatria L. (Scotch pine) ..... 

Populua SP-------------------------- Populua tremula L. (European aspen). 

Populua tremuloidea (quaking aspen)_ 

Do------------------------------

Do ............................. . 

Paeudotauga tazifolitJ (Douglas-fir)_._ 

Do Do ___________ ------------------. _____________________________ _ Do ___________________________ .. _ 

TilitJ partJifolitJ (linden, basswood) __ 

TABLE 2.-Gold content of plants-Continued 

Content in 

ash (ppm) 

Sampling loeallty Reference Remarks 

VASCULAR PLANT8-Contlnaed 

Treee-Contlnaed 

0.15 

~2.6 

Omai Valley, British Lungwitz (1899) •. ·-------- Pieces of trunk near the roots. In subsurface, Guiana. a gold-bearing aplite. Yakut, U.s.s.R ............ Razinand Rozhkov 8samples.Ash,0.2-1.3 percent. 4 samples of 

(1966). entire plant; ash. 0.4-1.3 percent, Au, ~1.4 ppm in ash. (1.7). 2 samples of young shoots with needles and cones; ash, 0.2 and 

0.65 percent, Au, 0.2 and 0.4 ppm in ash, 

respectively. (8.0). Wood and bark; ash, 

0.96 percent, Au, 2.6 ppm in ash. (0.2). 

Plant without roots; ash, 1.06 percent, Au, 0 ppm in ash. (0.2). 

1.27 

6 

~-8 

Kuznetsk Ala-'f'a~:, Zvyagintzev (UK1) ........ From the trunk of an 18- to 20-year-old U.S.S.R. sapling . ..... do ............................ dO--------------------- Wood and branches from the aforementioned 

Yakut, U.S.S.R.----------- Razin and Rozhkov 

(1966). 

tree. 

4 samples. Ash, 0.3-2.2 percent. 2 s!\mples of 

needles and twigs; ash, 1.5 and 2.2 percent, Au, 0.7 and 0 ppm in ash, respectively. (0.5). 

Nil North Fork, Watson Bar 

Creek, British Columbia, 

Canada. 

Warren and Delavault 

(1950). 

Cones; ash, 0.8 percent, Au, 0.8 ppm in ash. 

(0.5). Trunk, branches, and needles; ash, 

0.3 percent, Au, 0 ppm in ash. (Trace t). 3-sam.ple composite. Ash, 2.12 percent. 

<. 03 •.••• do ............................ dO--------------------- 2-sample composite. Ash, 2.42 percent. 

Nil ..... dO----------------------------dO--------------------- Ash,1.90percent. 

~2.1 

~1.2 

~.9 

2.0 

~2.1 

.89 

Nil ..... dO----------------------------do _____________________ 5-sample composite. Ash in dry matter, 4.68 

percent. Nil ..... do ............................ do .................... 5-sample composite. Ash in dry matter, 5.37 

percent. 

Nil ..... do ............................ do _____________________ 1o-satnple composite. Ash in dry matter, 2.66 

percent. Yakut, U.S.S.R ............ Razin and Rozhkov 3 samples of twigs and needles; ash, 0.47-2.00 

(1966). percent. (1.9). . .... do ............................ do ..................... 6 samples; ash, 0.35-1.31 percent. 3 samples of 

entire plant without roots; ash, 0.57-1.31 

percent, Au, ~-4 ppm in ash. (0.2). 2 

samples of twigs and needles; ash, 0.35, Au, trace 1-0.4 ppm in ash. (3.2). Trunk; ash, 

0.42 percent, Au, 1.2 ppm in ash. (3.2) • ..... do ........................... do .................... 46samples; ash, 0.13-5.74 percent. 28 samples of entire plant, except roots; ash, 0.25-1.06 

percent, Au, ~. 3 ppm in ash. (3.0). 5 

samples of entire plant; ash, 0.21-1.20 percent, Au, ~.2 ppm in ash. (1.4). Roots, 3 

samples; ash, 0.51-5.74 percent, Au1 0.1-o.9 

ppm in ash. (3.0). 4 samples of neeales and 

twigs; ash.t 0.25-0.96 percent, Au, ~-5 ppm in ash. (1.11). 2 samples of needles; ash, 0.18 

and 3.50 percent, Au, 0.4 an:l 0.2 ppm in 

ash, respectively. (0.8). Branches; ash, 1.17 

percent, Au, trace tin ash. (0.). Bark; ash, 

0.56 percent, Au, 0 ppm in ash. Wood; ash, 

0.13 percent, Au, 0 ppm in ash. (3.0). Bark 

and wood; ash, 0.52 percent, Au, 0.5 ppm in ash. (3.0). Kuznetsk Ala-tau, U.S.S.R. Zvyagintz~:~v (UV.l) ________ Trunk and branches 1m apart. 

Yakut, U.S.S.R ............. Razin and RozJJtov 22 samples. Ash. 0.53-:-4.34 percent. 16 samNorth Fork, Watson Bar 

Creek, British Columbia, 

Canada. 

(1966). pies, branches, and leaves; ash, 0.56-4.34 

percent, Au, ~.5 ppm in ash, (0.6). 4 

samples of branches without leaves; ash, 

0.99-2.9 percent, Au, ~.2 ppm in ash, 

(0.5). 2 samples of leaves; ash, 0.53 and 2.52 

percent, Au, 0 and 2.1 ppm in ash, respec- tively. (8.8). 

Warren and Delavault 

(1950). 

Ash, 2.40 percent. In an area of known mineralization with an overburden of 4-8 ft. 

• 33 ••••• dO----------------------------do ..................... 2-sample composite. !.,n, 7.14 percent in dry 

10 

material. 

Nil ..... do ............................ dO--------------------- 2-sample composite. Ash, 6.90 perc:::1t in d•.Y 

material. 

.65 ..... do ............................ do ..................... More recently considered Paeudotauga menzie&ii (Wirt.) Franco. Ash, 2.30 percent. In an area of known mineralization with an overburden of 4-8 ft. Nil ..... do. ___________________________ do _____________________ 12-sample composite. Ash, 3.65 percent. Nil ..... do. ___________________________ do _____________________ 5-sam.ple composite. Ash, 4.75 percent. Nil ..... do ____________________________ do _____________________ 5-sample composite. Ash, 3.00 percent. 

Oslany, Czechoslovakia _____ Babi~ka (1943) ____________ Blossoms. 

1 A trace seems to be between 0.1 to 0.001 ppm as cited by Razin and Rozhkov (1966). 

9 
in soil on which the mosses grew (given in parenthesis) was generally less than the amount of 

gold found in the ashes of the plants. 

HERBS 

The herbs include the largest variety of plants 

sampled for gold. Many replicate analyses have 

been made for some species. The herbaceous 

plants are shown to contain gold which ranges, in 

their ash, from 0 to 610 ppm. The extremely hig~ 

value-the highest value known to be reported 

for a plant-was given by Babicka (1943) fo~ the 

marsh horsetail, Equisetum palustre which grew 

in the gold-mining region of Oslany, Czechoslovakia, where the gold content of the soil was 

reported to be only 0.2 ppm. In the ash from two 

other specimens of Equisetum arvense, Babicka 

detected 16 and 63 ppm gold. Because of the 

possibility that species of Equisetum may be 

accumulators of gold, Cannon, Shacklette, and 

Bastron (1968) examined 22 collections of these 

plants that were gathered throughout the United 

States. From their analyses of these plants, they 

concluded that the· average amount of gold to be 

expected in this vegetation is less than 0.2 ppm 

and consequently Equisetum would not be useful 

in prospecting for gold. In addition they noted 

that the high values of 610 ppm gold in the ash 

of E. palustre and 63 ppm gold in the ash of E. 

arvense may be erroneous due to the probability, 

in the original analyses, that the sulfides of copper 

~nd several other metals were reported as gold. 

Other workers have reported about the same 

amounts of gold in the ash of Equisetum as found 

by Cannon, Shacklette, and Bastron. For instance, 

Warren and Delavault (1950) reported from 0.17 

to 0.34 ppm (average 0.3 ppm) gold in the ashes 

of four plants, and Razin and Rozhkov (1966) 

reported from 0 to 0. 7 ppm gold in the ashes of 

six plants. 

In the ashes of the forbs, Babicka reported 

gold contents of 4.36 ppm and more. By comparison, the average amount of gold in the ashes 

of forbs as reported by other workers who succeeded Babicka rarely exceeded the minimum 

amount reported by him. 

Although differences in the gold content of 

various parts of plants were observed, no plant 

part appeared to be superior to any other part 

in its amount of gold. The parts compared were 

roots, main and terminal stems, leaves, flowers, 

seeds, and seed pods. 

The amount of gold in the plant ash reported 

by Babicka greatly exceeded the gold content of 

10 

the soil. However, other workers (Khotamov, 

Lobanov, and Kist, 1966, and Razin and Rozhkov, 

1966) show much smaller differences. Many plant 

ashes contained less gold than the soil in which 

they grew (table 2). 

There appears to be no significant differences 

in the gold content of forbs and of grasses and sedges. 

The gold content in the ashes of grasses and sedges 

ranged from 0 to 8.6 ppm. The maximum gold 

content of the soil was 8 ppm. 

As a gold-sampling device of the flowering 

plants in a neighbourhood, honey has been analyzed for gold by Berg (1928) but without success. 

SHRUBS 

The amount of gold in the ashes of shrubs 

varied from 0 to 600 ppm. Excluding the amounts 

reported by Babicka, the maximum amount was 

36 ppm ·given by Khotamov, Lobanov, and Kist 

(1966) who used neutron-activation methods of 

analyses for plants. 

Khotamov, Lobanov, and Kist (1966) analyzed 

the separate parts of a few shrubs (table 2). 

More gold was detected in the leaves of Girgensohnia oppositijlora, HaplophyUum robustum, and 

Lagochilius intermedius than in their roots, terminal stems, or main stems, but in Nanophyton 

erinaceum the same amount of gold was reported 

for these various parts. 

Razin and Rozhkov (1966) reported a maximum 

gold content for the ash of shrubs as 10 ppm 

(Rubus arcticus) and the maJcimum gold content 

of the soil, 4.5 ppm. Near some other shrubs the 

maximum gold content of the soil was 8 ppm. 

They found in about two-thirds of the soil and 

plant samples analyzed that the maximum amount 

of gold in the soil exceeded that in the ashes of 

shrubs. 

TREES 

The gold content of trees is similar to that ?f 

other vegetation. The amount of gold reporte~ In 

tree ashes varies from 0 to 10 ppm, the high 

amount being reported by Babicka (1943) for 

the ash from the blossoms of Tilia parvijolia. 

Gold was not detected in the ashes of a variety 

of trees. No tree part was shown to be consistently 

higher in gold content than any other part. 

According to the analyses of Razin and Ro~hkov 

(1966), the maximum amount of gold found In the 

soil near the analyzed trees was usually greater 

than the gold in the ashes of the adjacent plants. 

SUMMARY 

The maximum amount of gold that has been 

reported in the ash of plants is 610 ppm (Babicka, 
1943). However there is serious doubt regarding 

the reliability of some of the values reported by 

Babicka; probably the reported maximum amount 

of gold in plant ash is much less. The maximum 

values given in table 2 by other investigators for 

gold in the ash of some terrestrial vegetation is: 

Cannon, Shacklette, and Bastron (1968), 0.5 

ppm; Warren and Delavault (1950), 1.02 ppm; 

Razin and Rozhkov (1966), 19.2 ppm; Khotamov, 

Lobanov, and Kist (1966), 36 ppm; Zvyagintzev 

(1941), 6 ppm; Lungwitz (1899), 0.15 ppm; and 

Stark (1943), 1.7 ppm. At present the amount 

of data is insufficient to show that one part of a 

plant contains more gold than any other part, 

although a few analyses by Khotamov, Lobanov, 

and Kist (1966) suggest the possibility that leaves 

may contain more gold than other plant organs. 

In addition no group of plants seems to contain 

consistently more gold than any other group. 

Razin and Rozhkov (1966) found that the 

maximum amount of gold in the soil (usually the 

C horizon) exceeded that shown for the ash of 

most of the plants which they analyzed. However 

Khotamov, Lobanov, and Kist (1966} believe 

that "the concentrations of gold in plants exceeds 

considerably the gold content in the soil." 

Analyses of the gold content of mull (humus-rich 

forest soil) ash that was derived chiefly from 

lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), limber pine 

(Pinus :flexilis), and aspen (Populus tremuloides) 

in the Empire mining district of Colorado was, 

with few exceptions, higher than that in the 

underlying soil (Curtin and others, 1968}. Although the concentrations of gold in the ash of 

plants generally appear to exceed the gold content 

of the soil, the differences between the gold content of the ash of plants to that of the earth's 

crust and various rock types appears to be much 

greater. Based on neutron-activation analyses, the 

gold content of igneous rocks is given as 3.6 ppb, 

for sedimentary rocks, 5.4 ppb, and for metamorphic rocks, 4.6 ppb (Jones, 1969), and for the 

earth's crust, 1 to 6. ppb (Jones, 1968). Probably, 

then, the amount of gold in plant ash may be one 

or more magnitudes higher than the amount 

found in the rocks in the earth's crust. 

GOLD CONTENT OF ANIMALS 

Gold has been looked for in only a few animals. 

Known analyses have been made on four different 

types of insects, seven different types of marine 

organisms, and seven types of warm-blooded 

animals. 

11 

Cockchafers (scarabaeid beetles) have been 

found to be auriferous when indigenous to Oslany, 

a gold-mining region in Czechoslovakia, but not 

when from the region of Propast near Stribrna 

Skalica (Bohemia). The gold content of cockchafers can be reduced by feeding them nonauriferous plants (Babicka, Komarek, and 

Nemec, 1945). Razin and Roshkov (1966) looked 

for but did not detect gold in the water beetle 

(Dytiscus sp.) or in the carpenter ant (Oamponotus 

vagus), although 0.4 ppm gold was obtained from 

the ash of a bee (Vispidae sp.). 

The amount of gold found in some marine 

animals is shown in table 3. Analyses made by 

neutron activation are much lower than those 

made by older methods. For instance, N oddack 

and Noddack (1939) reported from 7 to 30 ppb 

gold in the dry matter of several marine animals. 

By contrast values obtained by neutron-activation 

methods vary from 0.0012 to 0.126 ppb gold in 

the dry material (Fukai and Meinke, 1962; 

Bowen, 1968; Oka, Kato, and Sasaki 1964). 

The least amount of gold was found in the dry 

matter of the muscle of the mackerel, Pneumatophorus japonicus. Bowen ( 1968) reported 

0.126 ppb gold in the dry matter of a sponge from 

Plymouth, England (table 3). He thought that 

this value was due to the relatively high initial 

gold content of sea water in the area where the 

sponge grew and to the scleroprotein structure of 

the sponge which resembles some artificial polymers. According to Bowen, gold can be concentrated by absorption or adsorption on certain 

artificial polymers. In the dried matter of fishes, 

Fukai and Meinke (1962) found 0.1 ppb gold in 

the soft parts. This was considerably more gold 

than was found in the soft parts of the mackerel 

Pneumatophorus japonicus by Oka, Kato, and 

Sasaki (1964). The average amount of gold in the 

dry rna tter of marine organisms seems to be 

about the same as that which occurs in sea water. 

This conclusion is based on neutron-activation 

methods of analysis for both. The figures used in 

computing the average gold content of marine 

animals are taken from table 3, and, in addition, 

include the 0.1 ppb gold reported by Fukai and 

Meinke (1962). This average is 0.04 ppb and is 

close to that of 0.05 ppb for sea water. The values 

given for comparison are obviously based not 

only on too few analyses but are also probably 

not representative of their kind. 

Gold has been detected in birds, cows, deer, and 

man and has been administered to laboratory 

animals such as rats and mice. Gold was looked for 
TABLE 3.-Gold content of marine animal-1 

[See table 2 for comparison with the marine plant, Ultla sp.] 

Content 

Organism in dry Reference Remarks matter 

(ppb) 

Halfchondria panicta (sponge). 

H alichondrfa mtJfnicafttllota (sponge). 

0. 126 Bowen (1968) • From Plymouth, 

England. Mean of 2 

replicates. .023 _____ do _________ From HawaH. Mean 

M11CGk cecUia (sponge) ___ _ 

Ta:radocia riolaUa 

(sponge). Tj!dania sp. (sponge) _____ _ 

of 2 replicates. .029 _____ do_________ Do. 

.029 _____ do_________ Do. 

• 055 _____ do ________ _ .018 _____ do ________ _ Do. 

Z1/UO'm11Cale parf8hii Do. 

(sponge). 

Halichondria sp. (sponge). 10 Noddackand 

Noddaek 

(1939). Altuiu rubem (starfish)__ 30 

Brf81op8f8 l11rifua (sea 7 urchin). 

Strfchopu~ trmulu• (saa 24 

cucumber). 

Tape• japonica (clam)____ • 057 

___ .• do ••.•• _ •. _ _____ do _________ Shell. 

. __ •• do ______ •. _ 

Oka, Kato, Content of soft parts. and Sasaki Au in ash, 0. 79 ppb. (19M). Pandalu• sp. (shrimp) ___ _ .0028 _____ do _________ Contentofsoftparts. 

Au in ash, 0.046 ppb. Pmumatophoru• japonicul (maeksrel). 

.0012 ••••. do _________ Content of muscle. Au 

in ash, 0.026 ppb. 

but not detected in the bones and teeth of a wild 

pig shot in the gold-mining region of Oslany, 

Czechoslovakia (Babicka, 1943). 

A number of birds were examined for gold by 

Razin and Rozhkov (1966). These consisted of 

three northern spruce crossbills, Loxia curvirostra 

curvirostra L., which contained from no detectable 

gold to 1.1 ppm in their ash (2.43 to 2.80 percent), 

four Siberian white crossbills, Loxia leucoptera bifasciata Brehm., which contained from no detectable gold to as much as 1.5 ppm in their ash (2.36 

to 2.75 percent), one common bunting, Emberiza 

leucocephalos Gm., which contained 1.2 ppm in 

its ash (4.13 percent), two unidentified buntings, 

Emberiza, which contained no detectable gold in 

one (3.67 percent ash) and 0.3 ppm gold in the 

other (3.61 percent ash), three Siberian spotted 

pipits, Anthus hodgsoni inopinatus Hart. et 

Steinb., which contained from 0.1 to 0.9 ppm gold 

in their ash (4.83 to 6.15 percent), and one 

redwing thrush, Turdus naumanni naumanni 

Temm., which contained 0.1 ppm gold in its ash 

(1.64 percent). 

Antlers from deer harvested in Czechoslovakia 

and in the United States have been analyzed for 

gold. Babicka, Komarek, and Nemec (1945) analyzed different parts of the roebuck from Oslany, 

Czechoslovakia, a gold-bearing region. They found 

gold in the ashes of the hair of the roebuck, from 

3 to 8.5 ppm and an inconsiderable amount in the 

hooves, but most in the ash of the antlers, 60 

ppm in one animal and 68 ppm in another animal. 

The points of the antlers contained the most 

gold. No gold was found in the antlers of deer 

12 

shot in the eastern Carpathian Mountains or 

near Karlstein. By contrast, the antlers of 15 

mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus), harvested from 

four gold-mining regions in the United States 

(in the mother lode country, California, near 

Ouray, Colo., Lead, S. Dak., and Eureka, Utah), 

contained about the same amount of gold in their 

ashes as occurs in relatively nonauriferous rocks 

(Jones, 1969). Neutron-activation analyses were 

made by members of the U.S. Geological Survey 

on the 1- and X-inch-long tips of the antlers of 

these deer. The amount of gold found in the ashes 

of the l-inch-long tips ranged from 0.5 to 6.4 ppb 

and averaged 2.3 ppb. In the ashes of the X-inchlong tips from five of these deer, the amount of 

gold detected ranged from 0.3 to 28.3 ppb and 

averaged 7.0 ppb. Thus it seems that more gold, 

per unit volume, occurs at the very tips of the 

antlers. 

Gold has been found in cow liver and brains, 

and in human blood, feces, and urine (Bertrand, 

1932). Bertrand detected 0.3 ppm gold in human 

blood, 0.2 ppm in cow liver, but most of all, the 

brain of an ox yielded 14 ppm which indicates a 

high value for brains. The amount of gold in 32 

samples of wet human liver tissue ranged from 

0.03 to 0. 79 ppb and averaged 0.057 ppb (Parr 

and Taylor, 1963). In human blood the mean gold 

content is about 0.004 ppb, in erythrocytes about 

0.008 ppb, and in plasma, about 0.006 ppb 

(Bagdavadze and others, 1965). The amount of 

gold in whole normal and uremic human bloods 

was found to be the same (Aripova and Prikhid'ko, 

1965). The amount of gold detected in human hair 

varied from 0.8 to 430 ppb (Bate and Dyer, 1965), 

the amount of gold in the hair of a man from 

Napier, New Zealand, averaged 270 ppb and from 

Hastings, New Zealand, 290 ppb. The average 

amount of gold in the hair of a man from Tennessee was 430 ppb. The amount of gold found in 

human teeth ranges from 10 to 30 ppb dry weight 

(Soeremark and Samsahl, 1962; Lundberg and 

others, 1965). Although no significant differences 

could be noted in the gold content of teeth on the 

basis of sex or between the upper or lower jaws, 

unerupted (impacted) bicuspids contained no detectable gold. 

Gold has been administered to rats and mice 

and the effects noted. The administration of gold 

thioglucose to mice results in a focal accumulation of gold in the hypothalamus (Debons and 

others, 1962). Gold given to white rats by Kalistratova, Moskalev, and Serebryakov (1966) resulted in an accumulation of some of the gold 
mainly in the liver, spleen, and lymphatics. Katakura (1965) noted that gold administered intravenously in col1oidal form in rats concentrated 

chiefly in the liver and spleen and less was retained in the lungs, kidneys, and femoral bones. 

SUMMARY 

The amount of gold occurring in animals varies 

greatly. Values obtained by neutron activation 

show as little as 0.0012 ppb gold has been found 

in the dry matter of fish muscle and as much as 

430 ppb gold in human hair. Excluding the earlier 

work of Noddack and Noddack (1939), marine 

animals contain, by far, the least amount of gold 

and terrestrial animals contain the most gold. 

Bones, teeth, and phosphorite are calcium phosphates with comparable gold contents. Neutronactivation analyses of composite samples of rock 

phosphorites from Morocco and the United States 

contained from 0.5 to 3.1 ppb gold (Z. S. Altschuler, oral commun., 1969), human teeth show 

10 to 30 ppb gold, and the ash of deer antlers 

from 0.5 to 28.3 ppb gold. These naturally occurring 

calcium phosphate compounds appear to be similar in their gold content, irrespective of their origin, 

and probably reflect the gold level of their 

environment. 

The known content of gold in animals apparently supports Vinogradov's (1953) observation 

that the amount of gold found in animal organs 

is entirely casual and that there are no auriferous 

animals anywhere in the world. 

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13 

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