Gold and other precious metals are leaking from Earth&rsquos core into the layers above, eventually making their way up to the surface during the formation of volcanic islands like Hawaii, a new study suggests.

But this study suggests that at least a tiny amount of that gold has escaped to the surface, raising the fascinating prospect that, if the leaking continues, more and more of this precious metal could travel from the center of Earth to the crust in the future.The ruthenium isotope signature in rocks from hotspot volcanoes like the ones in Hawaii is entirely different from any other rock or meteorite on record, according to lead study author Nils Messling, geochemist at the University of Göttingen. Nils Messling

The presence of the ruthenium isotope in the basalt samples indicates that at least some of the rock was formed from material coming from the molten metallic core.

The latest research also strengthens the case made in previous work that some mantle plumes incorporate material from Earth&rsquos core, said the University of Copenhagen&rsquos Waterton.