New discoveries in the geobotanical method
Discover the diamond-loving plant!
Researchers have identified a thorny pseudo-palm plant in West Africa that grows only near diamonds and could become the best friend of hunters of this precious stone.
Pandanus candelabrum prefers soils rich in kimberlite, an igneous rock associated with diamonds.
This plant is especially found in Liberia and can become a key tool for diamond prospectors.
Before this, other plants were identified that were associated with elements such as copper, and they are referred to as geobotany.
But Pandanus candelabrum seems to be the first plant species to grow on potential diamond mines.
Forming hundreds of kilometers deep in the earth, diamonds are brought to the surface by kimberlite pipes. Kimberlite pipes are columns of volcanic rock formed by ancient eruptions.
Dr. Stephen Haggerty of Florida International University in Miami was the first person to identify the plant near these rare tubes.
Kimberlite pipes can be relatively large, the sample discovered by Dr. Hagerty was 50 meters wide and 500 meters long; But these pipes are rare and only 10% of them have diamonds, of which only 10% have good quality diamonds.
It seems that this plant feeds on magnesium, potassium and phosphorus in the kimberlite soil.
One of the advantages of this plant is its cost-effectiveness in diamond mining, because fewer areas will be explored in search of this valuable stone.
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This post is written by geominer