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Earthquakes may help deposit gold on the Earth's crust, a recent study suggests.

According to OurAmazingPlanet, about six miles below the surface, water holds large amounts of carbon dioxide, silica and precious metals like gold. They are all held together under the surface like a pressure cooker.

Earthquakes move along the surface in a line in a fracture called a fault. During an earthquake, the fault jogs open wider, causing the water underneath the surface to vaporize immediately. That process forces silica, which creates quartz, and materials like gold to spill onto neighboring surfaces.

In general, the amount of gold that an earthquake would bring to a surface  would be miniscule. That is because, at most, underground waters carry one part per million of gold. However, in some constantly affected earthquake zones, mineral deposits carrying 100 tons of the metal could be created in as little as 100,000 years. That can occur even if the earthquakes do not register very high on the Richter scale.

The researchers came to their conclusion by performing a numerical model, the Agence France Presse reports. That model allowed them to ascertain how much pressure would drop in a fault cavity.

Their study also helped to explain why gold is often found with quartz.

Gold deposits may be also be triggered by other natural phenomena like volcanoes, which researchers state may be even more adept than earthquakes at creating the precious metal. That point is a source of contention, however.

The information could be useful in the search for more gold. Discovering how and where gold is formed could enhance the exploration of gold.

In fact, so far humans have pillaged about 188,000 tons of gold from the earth, meaning that easily accessible resources are running low on the precious metal.

The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.