China Plans To Mine the Yellow Sea Floor 223
eldavojohn writes "Details are limited but state media is reporting on $75 million being put into a new research facility
in Qingdao, Shandong Province that will conduct research into mining the sea floor. From the article: 'Scientists believe sea beds at a depth of 4,000 to 6,000 meters hold abundant deposits of rare metals and methane hydrate, a solidified form of natural gas bound into ice that can serve as a new energy source.' The research center's first goal is to do surveying and exploration with a new submersible named 'Jiaolong' (a mythical aquatic Chinese dragon). Hopefully these quests yield energy resources to meet growing demand for resources like liquefied coal in China."
Religious Propaganda (Score:0, Informative)
methane hydrate, a solidified form of natural gas bound into ice that can serve as a new energy source
So the Chinese government got visited by the Jehovah's Witnesses too?
Re:Minerals on the floor (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Methyl hydrate apocalypse averted? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Perfect Balance (Score:2, Informative)
When i try that, i get a larger number...
3.61*10^14 m2 (ocean surface area) x 0.01 m = 3.61*10^12 m^3
3.61*10^12 m^3 = 3.61*10^3 km^3 = 3160 km^3
You'd need just a wee bit more..
Canadian company already doing this (Score:1, Informative)
Nautilus Minerals has been working on mining massive sulphide mounds for several years now, they even have a pilot project in Papua-New Guinea. One of the primary concerns was all the underwater life (black smokers etc) they'd be killing. Other than that, these mounds are incredibly rich in all sorts of minerals - and take thousands of years to grow.
As China Advances.. (Score:3, Informative)
We Americans keep tying our own hands behind our backs. Energy and resources = Power.
Re:Paying the Cost to Be the Boss (Score:3, Informative)
What a pretty graph - it must actually say something, right? Except as far as I can figure out it doesn't. "Human Development Index" plotted against "global hectares per capita"? WTF? Not only don't we know what a Human Development Index is, I challenge you to tell us what a "global hectare" is (and why it is different than a normal old area-of-measurement hectare), and why it is so significant when it is evaluated per capita per country.
Balderdash.