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Oceans full of gold

Listen to this article The depths of the sea hide many treasures and these are often riches which, for various reasons, were hidden on purpose, and years later there was no one to come back for them. Others, however, in the turbulence of history found themselves in inaccessible places as a result of wars, for

ByMałgosia Brykała

Published: December 26, 2013 - 11:17

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 03:32

Listen to this article

The depths of the sea hide many treasures and these are often riches which, for various reasons, were hidden on purpose, and years later there was no one to come back for them. Others, however, in the turbulence of history found themselves in inaccessible places as a result of wars, for example. The treasures hidden in the seas and oceans are almost 100% the cargo of the sunken ships they were transported on. The discovery of jewels or coins sunk in water is the dream of every seeker of precious antiquities.

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Treasure hunters, who have caught the bug of exploring the underwater world, often have the same dream – a good metal detector. However, it is not enough to have one to be a treasure hunter, if only because, according to Polish law, it is an offence to search without a permit. However, some people are not discouraged and it doesn’t surprise us at all, because, as scientists estimate, a lot of gold has been buried under the ocean floor.

The first evidence of the existence of these resources was discovered as early as 1872. Although it has been verified that as much as 20 million tonnes of gold can be found in the oceans, it is highly diluted, making it difficult to extract. However, with the development of science, there is hope.

One idea for extracting this bullion involves using electrolysis. This year, a Spanish website reported on a scientist who allegedly created a machine to extract gold from sea water. The device is said to be extremely eco-friendly as it is powered by solar energy. Thanks to it, about 150 grams of pure gold can be obtained in 30 days. The invention has not yet hit the market, so it is hard to determine whether it really works. Even if such a machine does not exist, it is very likely that it will soon, because the technology for it is already known.

Many people have claimed that they can recover gold from seawater on an economic scale, but so far they have all been wrong or fraudulent. A German physicochemist and discoverer of the Haber process carried out research into extracting gold from seawater to help Germany pay reparations after the First World War, however he ended his project very quickly.

If this is the case, won’t the new technology supporting the process of acquiring the precious metal take away the pleasure from treasure hunters, who prefer to explore the depths of the sea using classic methods in order to search for tangible valuables? Undoubtedly, however, the development of underwater penetration methods and equipment and their evolution over time is of great interest.

Source: goldrushnuggets.com