A fluffy pink fungus that decorates itself with gold nanoparticles has been found in the gold fields of Western Australia.

Key points: Gold-loving strain of fungus found at Boddington, 130 kilometres south-east of Perth

Gold-loving strain of fungus found at Boddington, 130 kilometres south-east of Perth Fungus benefits from dissolving gold then turning it into nanoparticles

Fungus benefits from dissolving gold then turning it into nanoparticles The process could also help mobilising gold so it can move to mineable depths in the Earth

And it's not just a fancy dresser. This fungus could also play an important role in helping humans to mine gold — from underground deposits, sewage sludge or even e-waste.

The fungus, found in soil at Boddington, 130 kilometres south-east of Perth, is a strain of the filamentous Fusarium oxysporum, according to a report in this week's Nature Communications.

"If you go to a gold-mining area you will find a lot of fungi growing in the soil," author and geomicrobiologist Tsing Bohu of CSIRO said.

Dr Bohu and his colleagues carried out lab experiments and imaging to find what the microbes in the gold-rich Boddington soil were up to.

They discovered that this particular fungus produces a chemical called superoxide that is able to dissolve gold. It is also able to mix this dissolved gold with another chemical to turn it back into solid gold, in the form of tiny nanoparticles.

"We observed the precipitation of gold on the surface of the fungus," Dr Bohu said.

Gold and fungi work together

But why on earth would a fungus do this?

"There is an underlying biological benefit from this reaction," Dr Bohu said.

"We found gold-loving fungi can grow faster and bigger relative to other fungi that don't work with gold."

The team's theory is that the gold acts as a catalyst that helps the fungus digest some forms of carbon food.

Dr Bohu said the hope is to use gold-loving fungi as an indicator there may be precious metal in them thar hills, and help miners narrow down the area where exploratory drilling would be most worthwhile.

Gold is generally very inert, which is why we love it so much, but under the ground it can be a different story ( Getty: Fernando Bueno )

Geochemist Joel Brugger, of Monash University who was not involved in the study, said the findings offered clues about a contribution fungi make to bringing gold from deep within the Earth.

Gold is formed at mega high temperatures (500 degrees Celsius) hundreds of kilometres below the surface.

Over time, erosion brings it to shallower mineable depths, but it is still tens and hundreds of metres down and this is where Professor Brugger thinks the gold-loving fungus might play a role.

He said Dr Bohu and colleagues had demonstrated a "lovely pathway" by which the fungus oxidises gold.

Through this process the gold loses electrons and becomes more soluble so it can move upwards towards the surface in groundwater.

"The fungus may be really critical in mobilising the gold," Professor Brugger said.

A green way to mine?

Saskia Bindschedler, a microbiologist from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, was also impressed by the study.

"I think this is something that is really cool and that is completely new, and the data seems to be really nice," said Dr Bindschedler, who studies the interaction between fungi and metals.

"What I really like about this paper is that it shows that not only bacteria are able to oxidise inactive metals."

In particular, she likes the fact that Dr Bohu and colleagues have documented a previously unknown process in the biogeochemical cycle, which links biology, geology and chemistry.

Dr Bindschedler said it was possible that gold could be harvested from the gold-loving fungi.

"This could be a greener approach to mining gold," she said.

And she is particularly interested in using microbes to mine metals like copper, silver and gold from e-waste or sewage sludge.

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But don't rush out prospecting for gold-studded fungi just yet. For a start you are unlikely to actually see the delicate fungus, let alone the nanoparticles, which are only three or so nanometres wide.

And it will be some time before scientists are able to develop a detection test, according to Professor Brugger.

Like the CSIRO team, he studies the interaction between metals and microbes and has been involved in the development of a detection system based on the fact that bacteria also interact with gold. The system reached proof of concept stage before the end of the mining boom saw a loss of funding.

Apart from microbes, the mining industry is exploring other "low-impact exploration tools", including using gum leaves and termite mounds, which can store tiny traces of gold and can be linked to bigger deposits below the surface.