ANT and termite mounds have gone from pesky to gold mines.
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The CSIRO says the insects are stockpiling gold in their mounds, becoming Australia's smallest and most numerous mining prospectors.
They carry the gold from underground up into their mounds and also accumulate metals in their bodies.
The CSIRO's Dr Aaron Stewart said the mounds could hold the clue to uncovering new gold deposits.
He said although most minerals are buried by a layer of earth, signs of the resource are often close to the surface.
"In some places we have shown that termites and ants can bridge the gap by bringing up evidence from five metres down," Dr Stewart said.
"We're using insects to help find new gold and other mineral deposits. These resources are becoming increasingly hard to find because much of the Australian landscape is covered by a layer of eroded material that masks what's going on deeper underground.
He said "the insects bring up small particles that contain gold from the deposit's fingerprint, or halo, and effectively stockpile it in their mounds.
Dr Stewart said exploration drilling costs thousands of dollars a hole and ants and termites could save miners fortunes.
Several exploration companies are already working with CSIRO to develop and refine the method.
Test sites in the WA Goldfields showed that termite mounds contained high concentrations of gold, indicating larger deposits underneath.
Insects have also long been used for prospecting, particularly for gold and nickel.
In Africa, ancient African civilisations used termites and their enormous mounds as a starting place for prospecting and uncovering deposits.
As termites continually search for water they can often dig down to depths of more than 70 metres and distances of hundreds of metres.
"Termites are nature's little drillers," researcher and University of Adelaide geoscientist Anna Petts explained at the Geological Society of Australia's Earth Science Showcase. - AAP
