Youngsters were amazed after stumbling on a cave filled with gold-coloured dust under a waterfall.
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.
The teenagers entered the small entrance to the cave and used smartphone phone flashlights to find their way.
After reaching the heart of the cave, they found yellow gold-like dusts sticking on wall and rock formations.
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.
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." 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.
To protect the cave from being vandalised by treasure hunters, the local officials visited the site with geologists a few days later.
The geologists took samples of the golden dust on the cave's wall and took it to their lab to test it.
However, after testing the material, they found that the shiny yellow dusts inside the cave are bacteria called Actinomycetes.
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.
''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." The geologist also added that the cave is only made up of limestone and there is no gold present anywhere inside.
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.
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.