Gold and silver content of plant Helichrysum arenarium, popularly known as the golden flower, growing in Gümüşhane, NE Turkey

Geochemical and biogeochemical methods in mineral exploration have been widely used in recent years because of the depletion of known deposits and the need to explore buried deposits. The aim of this study was to investigate the gold and silver content of Helichrysum arenarium, popularly known as the golden flower, for possible exploration of precious ore deposits. For this purpose, plant samples of the respective plant parts (roots, stem-leaves and flowers) collected from Demirören village of Gümüşhane in the northeastern Turkey were analysed for gold and silver by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Gold and silver contents of the plants was assessed on the basis of different statistical approaches. The results indicate that the plant has elevated levels of gold and silver concentrations, particularly in the case of gold. As a result, it was determined that the gold content of Helichrysum arenarium is remarkable and the gold accumulation capacity of the plant is high in the the stem-leaves, whereas the silver accumulation capacity of the plant is high in roots.