Turning Mercury Into Gold? A US Start-up Says It Has Just Done It
The company said the metal could contain radioactive isotopes and might need to sit for up to 18 years before sale.
- On Wednesday, San Francisco-based Marathon Fusion announced it successfully transmuted mercury into stable gold, claiming to beat CERN's record by a factor of 10.
- Founded in 2023 by Kyle Schiller and former SpaceX engineer Adam Rutkowski, the company counts Breakthrough Energy, founded by Bill Gates, and mining group Anglo American among its backers.
- Marathon fires neutrons from fusion reactions at mercury to create unstable isotopes that decay into gold, though the material may require up to 18 years of storage due to radioactivity, and the claim remains unverified.
- A theoretical fleet of 100 fusion plants could produce an estimated 500 tonnes of gold annually, roughly 14% of last year's mine output, though there are currently no public plans to commercialize the product.
- Gold traded at $4,062 an ounce on Thursday, remaining more than 27% below its January record high of $5,598, as central banks in China and Poland continue to hold the metal as a store of value.
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11 Articles
Turning mercury into gold? A US start-up says it has just done it
Little-known San Francisco start-up Marathon Fusion says it has turned mercury into stable gold at ten times the rate of CERN's record, raising a question that has haunted the diamond trade: could lab-made gold one day sink the price of the mined metal?
American startup Marathon Fusion claims to have turned mercury into gold through nuclear fusion technology. They also claim to have produced radioactive isotopes needed for cancer treatment. However, these computer simulation results require scientific confirmation.
Marathon Fusion claims to have converted mercury into stable gold. The result awaits independent confirmation, and raises questions about future gold prices.
Could lab-made gold crash prices like diamonds? US start-up says it turned mercury into gold
Little-known San Francisco start-up Marathon Fusion says it has turned mercury into stable gold at ten times the rate of CERN's record, raising a question that has haunted the diamond trade: could lab-made gold one day sink the price of the mined metal?
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