Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
A researcher from Florida International University has reportedly discovered a palm-like, thorn-covered plant in Liberia that only grows on top of diamonds. (Well, actually, on top of columns of volcanic rock known as kimberlite pipes that are left behind by ancient eruptions that exhumed diamonds from the mantle.)
Provided the discovery is accurate, Science explains, the plants could provide an easy way for people to find the location of diamond deposits buried deep beneath the ground. The species is known as Pandanus candelabrum, and is the first indicator species for diamond-rich kimberlite, FIU researcher Stephen Haggerty wrote in his recent Economic Geology study.
Haggerty, who also serves as chief exploration officer of Youssef Diamond Mining Company, a firm with mining interests in Liberia, said that he suspects P. candelabrum adapted to kimberlite soils because they are rich in nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus.
The ‘X’ that marks the spot
As the website pointed out, P. candelabrum would not be the first plant species to indicate the presence of ore-bearing rocks. For instance, both Lychnis alpina, a small pink-flowering plant in Scandinavia, and Haumaniastrum katangense, a white-flowered shrub in Africa, are associated with copper because they can tolerate seepage from the mineral into the soil.
However, as Haggerty explained in his paper, “the identification of Pandanus candelabrum, with stilt-like aerial roots, is the first plant to be described that has a marked affinity for kimberlite pipes. This could dramatically change the exploration dynamics for diamonds in West Africa, as geobotanical mapping and sampling is cost-effective in tough terrain.”
Kimberlite pipes are rare, he told Science, but they can bring diamonds to the surface through eruptions after the gems form deep beneath the surface in extreme temperatures and pressures. Out of 6,000 known kimberlite pipes in the world, 600 contain diamonds, and only 10 percent are high-enough quality to be worth the time and effort required to mine them.
Once the rainy season passes, he plans to continue his work, hoping to find out how the plants get their nutrients from the kimberlite soil, and to analyze bulk samples of the soil to see if they are worth mining. He also intends to see if P. candelabrum is visible from aerial and satellite imagery, which would make it easier for West African countries to locate the diamond deposits.
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