China's deep sea sub probes ocean's riches

Jiaolong will explore the oceans. Photo / China Daily

China has boldly gone where few nations have gone before. It has sent a manned submersible vessel to a depth of 5000m below the sea in its attempt to dominate the scientific exploration of the mineral-rich seabed.

The Jiaolong, China's first manned deep-sea submersible craft, has reached a depth of 5057m in the second of four planned programmes that may take it as deep as 7000m next year - deeper than the 6500m record for civilian research submersibles set by Japan in 1990.

The 8.2m-long Jiaolong, which means "sea dragon", carries a crew of three and weighs nearly 22 tonnes. The vessel represents China's ambitious attempt to match the technological prowess of the four main deep-sea diving nations - the US, Russia, France and Japan.

This week's dive means China is now theoretically capable of reaching 70 per cent of the ocean floor, but if the Jiaolong reaches its designed depth of 7000m in 2012, it will be able to cover more than 99 per cent of the global seabed, experts said.

Much of the deep sea floor is totally unexplored, but scientists believe there may be rich deposits of minerals and precious metals, especially around hydrothermal vents on the seabed where hot plumes cause the build-up of mineral-rich "chimneys", first photographed by the American submersible Alvin in 1979.

Japanese researchers recently announced the discovery of large deposits of rare-earth metals on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Such elements are essential for the micro-electronics industry and China already accounts for more than 95 per cent of the world's production.

The Jiaolong's record dive received wide coverage by the state-controlled media in China where commentators compared the feat to recent Chinese achievements in manned space flight.

"It will pave [the] way for a record-breaking 7000m test dive in 2012," Wang Fei, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration, said.

The Jiaolong is diving in international waters in the north Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and North America. It takes photographs and video recordings, and can grab samples from the seabed with its robotic arm.

China has received permission from the UN's International Seabed Authority to explore newly discovered deposits called polymetallic sulphides that form around volcanic vents and ridges on the seabed that are rich in base metals such as copper, gold and silver.

- Independent