Youngsters were amazed after stumbling on a cave filled with gold-coloured dust under a waterfall.<br /><br />Rolly Estollo and his friends found the small opening among the rocks when they went for a swimming trip at the beauty spot near their village in North Cotabato, the Philippines on August 23.<br /><br />The teenagers entered the small entrance to the cave and used smartphone phone flashlights to find their way.<br /><br />After reaching the heart of the cave, they found yellow gold-like dusts sticking on wall and rock formations.<br /><br />Rolly and his friends recorded it to local officials in their village, which remained Covid-19 free until now so people have more freedom to go around.<br /><br />He said: "If what we found is really a golden cave, it would be a big help to our community. We are happy to discover this thing hidden in our town."<br /><br />The villagers who heard about the group's story became even more excited after remembering stories of World War II Japanese soldiers with gold bars hiding in their town.<br /><br />To protect the cave from being vandalised by treasure hunters, the local officials visited the site with geologists a few days later.<br /><br />The geologists took samples of the golden dust on the cave's wall and took it to their lab to test it.<br /><br />However, after testing the material, they found that the shiny yellow dusts inside the cave are bacteria called Actinomycetes.<br /><br />Geologist Adrian Aragon said: "The material is yellow and shiny so it is easy to mistake it for a gold. But based on closer inspection, the shine does not come from the material from the water droplets inside the cave.<br /><br />''The yellow material is also not part of the rocks. Instead, it only sticks on the rocks. It is also not metallic but a powdery substance that leaves stains on the hands when touched."<br /><br />The geologist also added that the cave is only made up of limestone and there is no gold present anywhere inside.<br /><br />The same bacteria is also found inside a cave in California's Lava Beds National Monument which is being studied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for its promising ability to survive in the planet Mars.<br /><br />Local officials are now planning to develop the site into a possible tourist attraction after the pandemic when it became popular to visitors who heard the news.
