Gold that was found in a borehole in Þormóðsdalur valley by Lake Hafravatn on the outskirts of Reykjavík this week measured 400 grams per ton of rock, the highest quantity found of the precious metal in Iceland.
Director of Innovation Center Iceland Þorsteinn Ingi Sigfússon told Fréttablaðið that the gold is also cleaner in Iceland than in many mining areas abroad. “The geothermal water has washed it out without trace elements as in other places. It is therefore cleaner and this could become a more environmentally-friendly project here than in many locations overseas.”
Environmentalists have criticized gold mining elsewhere as high quantities of quicksilver are used to separate the precious metal from the rock and the chemical is often washed out into the environment.
Mining for gold at geothermal power plants could become a lucrative side-business in Iceland.
