Russia leads gold rush on the ocean floor

Andy Potts, from the Moscow News,  reports that Russia has been granted exploration rights for some of the world’s most potentially lucrative gold and copper fields on the Atlantic Ocean floor. 

The UN’s International Seabed Authority (ISA) gave the thumbs-up to a proposal tabled by Russia in Dec. 2010, opening up one of the largest untapped fields of rare metals on the planet.

And it’s the first time any country has been invited to carry out research in international waters, beyond its agreed territorial zones, Kommersant reported.

Rich pickings

Russia’s sector contains six promising fields, and oceanologist Sergei Andreyev said that there could be the equivalent of up to 70 million tons of dry ore down there.

And the metal content of this ore is much higher than on land. Typically copper ore contains 1 per cent metal, but deep-sea resources range between 2.5 per cent and 10 per cent, occasionally even reaching 30 per cent.

Russia has 15 years to explore its slice of the ocean floor, which is in the northern equatorial zone of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, and confirm the extent of the ore. The metals are expected to be found 2-4 km below the sea bed.

The initial contract comes with an optional five-year extension, and Russia will have preferential rights to develop the field if projected yields match expectations.

International competition

Previously, sea bed exploration tended to be carried out by major maritime nations without reference to the ISA.

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