US Start-up Claims to Have Successfully Transmuted Mercury into Gold
Marathon Fusion, a US-based company, claims to have converted mercury into stable gold, reviving the dream of alchemy.
A US-based start-up, Marathon Fusion, claims to have successfully transmuted mercury into stable gold, a feat that has sparked both excitement and concern in the scientific community and the market, euronews.com reported.
The company's achievement, which has not been independently verified, was announced on Wednesday, stating that it had beaten a record set by CERN tenfold.
Marathon Fusion, founded in 2023 by Kyle Schiller and Adam Rutkowski, a former SpaceX engineer, develops fuel systems for future fusion power plants.
The company lists the US Department of Energy as a partner on its website and has received backing from prominent investors, including Breakthrough Energy, founded by Bill Gates, and Anglo American, the mining group that owns De Beers.
Marathon's method involves firing neutrons from fusion reactions at mercury, turning it into an unstable isotope that decays into gold.
The claim has raised concerns about the potential impact on the gold market, with some experts drawing parallels to the effect of lab-grown diamonds on the diamond industry.
Lab-grown diamonds, chemically identical to mined stones, have significantly disrupted the diamond market, causing wholesale prices to fall by 90-95% from their 2015 levels.
The gold market is substantial, with mines producing 3,672 tonnes in 2025 and central banks holding it in their reserves as a safe store of value.
However, no fusion plant yet sells electricity, and the first commercial ones are still years away, making it uncertain when and how this technology could affect the gold market.
Background on Fusion Technology
Fusion power plants aim to generate electricity by fusing atoms together, similar to the process that powers the sun.
While still in development, fusion technology has the potential to provide a nearly limitless source of clean energy.
Impact on the Gold Market
If commercialized, Marathon's technology could potentially disrupt the gold market, with estimates suggesting that 100 fusion plants could produce around 500 tonnes of gold per year.
However, the cost and feasibility of this process remain unclear, and the company has not provided detailed information on the amount of gold produced or the cost of production.
