Bacteria Could Help to Find Platinum Deposits

Phys.org reported that Australian researchers have uncovered a link between a certain type of bacteria and the formation of platinum deposits.
As quoted in the publication:

Published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the research has important implications for the future exploration of platinum group metals.
“These platinum group elements are strategically important metals, but finding new deposits is becoming increasingly difficult due to our limited understanding of the processes that affect the way they are cycled through surface environments,” says project leader Dr Frank Reith, Senior Lecturer in the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences and Visiting Researcher at CSIRO Land and Water.
“This research reveals the key role of bacteria in these processes. This improved bio geochemical understanding is not only important from a scientific perspective but we hope will also lead to new and better ways of exploring for these metals.”

Click here for the full Phys.org article.