On Oct. 25, 2023, University of British Columbia researchers announced they had identified buried kimberlite, the rocky home of diamonds, by testing the DNA of microbes in the surface soil.

These ‘biological fingerprints’ can reveal what minerals are buried tens of metres below the earth’s surface without having to drill. The researchers believe it was the first use of modern DNA sequencing of microbial communities in the search for buried minerals. The research published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment represented a new tool for mineral exploration.