General Discussion

KamaAina

(78,249 posts) Wed Oct 22, 2014, 06:50 PM Oct 2014

Here’s what you need to know about the deep-sea gold rush

https://beta.cironline.org/reports/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-deep-sea-gold-rush/

Another gold rush is on the way. It’s not in California, a developing country or even on asteroids....

There’s a lot of gold there. So much gold, in fact, that every person on Earth could get 9 pounds of it. That’s the equivalent of about $150 trillion in today’s prices, or about $21,000 a person. Along with the gold, there’s manganese, copper and rare earth metals – those precious substances that power our smartphones and computers.

So why hasn’t this sunken treasure surfaced yet? Deep-sea mining is extremely expensive and extremely difficult. But higher prices for metals and advances in oil and gas drilling are paving the way. The first deep-sea mine could begin operations as soon as 2017.

The potential for profit is great, but so are the environmental risks. The deep ocean is one of the least-understood ecosystems on earth. So how can we accurately predict (and mitigate) the risks of deep-sea mining?

5 replies

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Highlight:

Here’s what you need to know about the deep-sea gold rush (Original Post) KamaAina Oct 2014 OP

I'm no expert, but I'd say 9 pounds of gold is worth waaaay more than $21k Doremus Oct 2014 #1

Mining and prep costs??? ileus Oct 2014 #2

12 Troy ounces per pound. Turbineguy Oct 2014 #3

If there was that much Gold PeoViejo Oct 2014 #4

Fuck Gold. Mining gold is a dirty business... hunter Oct 2014 #5

Doremus

(7,261 posts)

1. I'm no expert, but I'd say 9 pounds of gold is worth waaaay more than $21k

Reply to KamaAina (Original post)

Wed Oct 22, 2014, 06:58 PM

Oct 2014

Even if an ounce is only worth $1k (it's more than that), there are 16 ounces in a pound x 9 = 144 ounces - 144k

What am I missing?

Edit to add:

Regardless of the potential profit, the potential cost in terms of environmental damage is far too high. If humans can find a way to screw the planet they will.