The richness of our oceans

Gold at the bottom of the oceans

In our previous articles, we have highlighted the main reserves of the oceans. We showed the wealth of our magnificent saltwater bodies.
Today, we’re going to talk about the treasure in the salt water: gold.

Seawater is composed of several chemical constituents:

– Calcium
– Magnesium
– Sodium
– Potassium
– Bicarbonate
– Sulfate
– Chlorine
– Bromine

But that’s not all it contains gold ions with about 0.005 parts per billion, an average proportion of 0.05 grams per 1000 liters of water.

Most of the gold particles are dissolved and make it difficult to access.
There are undissolved particles found on the ocean floor generally several kilometers from the surface and near ocean ridges.
Metals are often found in hydrothermal sulphide deposits or “black smokers”. They are inhabited by invertebrate species dependent on the chemical composition of their environment.
Research is then launched to exploit this field.

However, it is necessary to remain vigilant because the exploitation of the seabed has negative effects on the environment. Species can be disturbed and disappear with contaminated water or contaminated rocks.

It is the international seabed authority that manages the exploitation permits and limits overexploitation.

According to NASA, it would have 20 million tons of precious metals in the sea. A very interesting lead…