Posted on 07/24/2025 11:28:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
The company claims it has cracked a scalable method to make stable gold from mercury.
Ever since the discovery of alchemy, or since humans thought gold was a precious object, a worldwide quest to turn common elements into the yellow metal has been ongoing.
Folklore and fables sing praises of humans who went on this quest and those who received such blessings. No such claims have yet stood the test of science, and this could change quite soon.
An engineering firm from the United States – Marathon Fusion – has claimed that making gold from mercury is possible, and they state that nuclear fusion will play a key role in the process.
The Silicon Valley-based company’s founders claimed in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper.
In the paper, the authors say they have found a “new scalable method to synthesize stable gold from the abundant mercury isotope using reactions in a specialized neutron multiplier layer of a fusion blanket.”
The paper discusses high-energy neutrons produced in nuclear fusion reactors to transmute mercury into gold.
Turning mercury into gold
The process involves bombarding an isotope of mercury-198 with neutrons inside a fusion reactor. This would result in a new isotope, mercury-197, which is less stable and will decay into stable gold-197 within a few days. The naturally occurring form of the yellow metal is gold-197.
The majority of the nuclear fusion system, including tokamaks, relies on fusing deuterium and tritium- heavier forms of hydrogen. This reaction results in the production of helium, high-speed neutrons, and a vast amount of energy.
In a normal cycle, the neutrons are stored in a breeding blanket, which is designed to help in future fuel cycles. A breeding blanket is a critical component which surrounds the plasma and helps it achieve tritium self-sufficiency by breeding tritium fuel from lithium.
Marathon Fusion’s trick is adding a bit of mercury inside the breeding blanket. The mercury-198, a stable isotope, will convert into mercury-197 and turn into gold.
Making nuclear fusion a lucrative energy-generating activity As per the estimates made by the company’s founders, one gigawatt of fusion electricity could help make up to 11,023 pounds (5,000 kg) of gold annually. One gigawatt is the average output of a large nuclear plant, and this could lead to over $550 million worth of gold per year per GW of fusion energy, as per a report by ZME Science.
The process, if it sees the light of the day, could almost double the revenue of a nuclear fusion power plant. Moreover, as per the claims that money could be made without losing the energy output or any drop in tritium production.
The authors say that because of how valuable gold is in the markets, “this approach can subsidize the deployment of terawatts of fusion power without saturation.”
They also compared the neutrons produced in nuclear fusion and fission reactions. They concluded that “fusion is uniquely capable of providing large quantities of high-energy neutrons useful for driving new and valuable transmutation pathways.”
The paper also calls for developing a two-layer fusion blanket composed of an “inner blanket” and “outer blanket”, where the two layers have different working fluids selected based on the different neutron energy spectra in each layer.
The inner blanket will be designed to maximize the generation of gold.
The paper Scalable Chrysopoeia via (n, 2n) Reactions Driven by Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Neutrons can be accessed here.
Abstract
A scalable approach for chrysopoeia—the transmutation of base metals into gold—has been pursued for millennia. While there have been small-scale demonstrations in particle accelerators and proposals involving thermal neutron capture, no economically attractive approach has yet been identified. We show a new scalable method to synthesize stable gold (197Au) from the abundant mercury isotope 198Hg using (n, 2n) reactions in a specialized neutron multiplier layer of a fusion blanket. Reactions are driven by fast 14 MeV neutrons provided by a deuterium-tritium fusion plasma, which are uniquely capable of enabling the desired reaction pathway at scale. Crucially, the scheme identified here does not negatively impact electricity production and is also compatible with the challenging tritium breeding requirements of fusion power plant design because (n, 2n) reactions of 198Hg drive transmutation and neutron multiplication. Using neutronics simulations, we demonstrate a tokamak with a blanket configuration that can produce 197Au at a rate of about 2 t/GWth/yr. Implementing this concept allows fusion power plants to double the revenue generated by the system, dramatically enhancing the economic viability of fusion energy.
How many isotopes of mercury -198 and neoutrons from inside a reactor creating isotopes mercury -197 , is required to make one oz of gold -197?
An oz?........................
Paging Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Eddie "Hudson Hawk" Hawkins.
I know people hate that movie. I actually kind of enjoyed the mindless fun of it. Except for Sandra Bernhard. Can stand her.
It was that rare movie where SB actually fit the part lol
5:32 - Swinging on a Star (I think it was 5:32, been a long time)
Unobtainium and straw. The good straw. Can’t get that perfect “golden yellow” without the perfect straw.
I want more than 1 isotope of gold-197.
See: Twilight Zone, the Rip Van Winkle Caper
“Can anybody explain why you can’t do this with neutrons from a fission reactor, which exists, rather than a fusion reactor? “
Fusion neutrons have 14.1 MEV energies and fusion neutrons are about 2 MEV.
Feasibility is a complicated calculation involving energy dependent absorption crass-sections.
Low energy neutrons are absorbed. That won’t get you to HG-197 which decays to AU-197.
“An oz?........................”
More. Some reactions are (n,p) reactions.
Who is paying for this dude’s glorified science project?
They say this fusion alchemy will make gold cheaper—finally, my jewelry box can stop looking like a Mercury spill cleanup site.
Fusion reactors turning mercury-198 into gold? That’s not science, that’s Midas multitasking!
Mercury to gold in a fusion blanket? Sounds like the Sun’s taking up hobby crafting—next up, neutron knitting scarves!
I hear investors are excited—because now your retirement fund can literally glow in the dark… of fusion-powered nuclear transmutation!
Mercury isotope: “I’m just here to chill in the fusion blanket.” Neutron multiplier layer: “Hold my proton—I’ll turn you into bling!”
This method making stable gold from mercury is the best proof that fusion energy won’t just power the future—it’ll bling it, too.
Why did the neutron win “best bartender” award? Because for one, it always gives you “no charge” — and for two, it just turns your nasty mercury into pure gold.
So fusion blankets double as magic ovens? Just wait until they start turning cooking shows into alchemy classes.
If this keeps up, we should rename Periodic Table to the “Periodic Gold Rush”!
Mercuries like the one Lucy and Dezy pulled the longest trailer with?
Rod Sterling saw this coming.
The Rip Van Winkle Caper
My first thought as well.
I read about the russians doing this back in the 70s, the major problem was that the gold was very radioactive.
A few years from now, I can imagine a hapless young man being confronted by a beloved: "A gold and diamonds necklace? You cheap bastard!"
Artificial diamonds are on the verge of a new market : custom made art. You make various layers and colors of diamond. You carve each layer with lasers. Imagine giving your love a diamond with her face inside or something very romantic.
My thought too.
Natural diamond prices are impacted by the introduction of man-made diamonds, diluting the market. But an expert can still tell the difference.
Not so with this gold production method (if it works).
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