Valuable earth element-rich crust discovered at new ocean depths

By DAISUKE SUDO/ Staff Writer Asahi Shimbun

For the first time at such extreme depths, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) has discovered a layer of valuable cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust 5,500 meters beneath the ocean.

Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts are found on the slope of seamounts, or underwater mountains, covering their surfaces with layers usually measuring several centimeters in thickness. The sediment is considered to be rich in rare earth elements, including cobalt and platinum.

Before the latest research, such mineral-rich crusts were believed to exist only in much shallower waters, on seabeds no more than 3,000 meters deep.

Based on this theory, the cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in waters around the nation were believed to contain elements worth 100 trillion yen ($884 billion) in total.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sci_tech/science/AJ201603160019