Ryan Noble, a mining scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, said he has found that weak organic acids and other chemicals in wine and soft drinks will dissolve weakly-bound metals into solution, the CSIRO said Friday.

He said the beverages are particularly good at helping identify elevated levels of metals such as silver, zinc, copper and nickel -- and can be used as an inexpensive extraction tool.

"In many cases, the comparison of metals extracted using wine and soft drink were superior than those extracted using conventional, and much more expensive, commercial solvents,” Noble said in a release.

Results of the testing were presented at a recent Cooperative Research Center for Landscape Environment and Mineral Exploration seminar.