The reporter learned from the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Land and Resources that the comprehensive scientific research vessel "Haiyang 6", currently on an oceanic scientific expedition in the Pacific Ocean, recently used its onboard deep-sea remotely operated vehicle "Haima" to obtain 330 kilograms of cobalt-rich crust samples for the first time in the complex terrain of a seamount area, setting a new record for a single sampling.
Chinese Research Vessel Obtains 330 kg Seafloor Sample, Setting Single-Sampling Record
"Haima" is a 4500-meter deep-sea unmanned remotely operated vehicle independently designed and built by China, carried by the mother ship "Haiyang 6". This time, it successfully completed six dives in China's cobalt-rich crust resource exploration contract area. In a seamount area nearly 2,000 meters deep, using the latest improved specialized sampling tools, it successfully captured 330 kilograms of cobalt-rich crust samples, with the largest sample weighing 62 kilograms, providing abundant physical material for subsequent research. At the same time, "Haima" also broke through the drilling depth of the drill for the first time.
In addition to breaking the sampling record and drilling depth, "Haiyang 6" also used "Haima" to capture over 1,200 minutes of high-definition video of seafloor crusts, providing video materials for China's subsequent research on the morphology, occurrence, and surface characteristics of cobalt resources.
Next, "Haiyang 6" will begin China's deep-sea geological exploration voyage scientific mission.
Xu Zhenqiang, Director of the Marine Geology Division, Department of Basic Geology, China Geological Survey, Ministry of Land and Resources: First, on the basis of previous work, continue to carry out rare earth resource surveys in the Western Pacific to further expand the prospective resources of rare earth resources; second, carry out comprehensive deep-sea environmental surveys to study the impacts of global climate change.
"Haiyang 6" is a comprehensive geological and geophysical survey vessel independently developed by China, integrating multiple survey functions such as seismic and geological surveys. According to the plan, after completing its work, "Haiyang 6" is expected to return to Guangzhou in February next year.
Cobalt-rich crusts: a global hotspot for deep-sea resource development
The seafloor samples obtained by "Haiyang 6" this time are what we commonly call cobalt-rich crusts. So what are cobalt-rich crust resources? Why is this scientific expedition mission so important?
Cobalt-rich crusts, also known as cobalt crusts or ferromanganese crusts, generally grow on the surface of seafloor rocks or rock debris. They are named for being rich in cobalt.
Xu Zhenqiang, Director of the Marine Geology Division, Department of Basic Geology, China Geological Survey, Ministry of Land and Resources: Cobalt is a very important metal element in the aerospace field. It should be said that with the development of high technology, its demand is growing.
Not only that, the content of rare metals such as copper and platinum in cobalt-rich crusts is also considerable, and these rare metals are indispensable important strategic mineral resources in modern industry.
Xu Zhenqiang said that about 6.35 million square kilometers of the world's seafloor is covered by cobalt-rich crusts, accounting for 1.7% of the total seafloor area. At present, they have been found in the Central Pacific seamount group, the Hawaiian Ridge, and other places, with huge resource reserves. However, from understanding the importance of cobalt-rich crusts to being able to successfully sample and mine them, the path is not easy.
Xu Zhenqiang, Director of the Marine Geology Division, Department of Basic Geology, China Geological Survey, Ministry of Land and Resources: They mainly develop in deep-sea seamount areas. There are two problems that make mining difficult: one is that the terrain of the entire seamount area is relatively complex, and the second is that cobalt-rich crusts are on the surface of seamounts and are very thin, so mining is very difficult.
According to incomplete statistics, the potential resources of cobalt-rich crust deposits in the volcanic tectonic uplift belt of the western Pacific reach 1 billion tons, with cobalt metal content of millions of tons, and the total economic value has exceeded 100 billion US dollars.
As early as the 1950s, the U.S. Central Pacific Expedition discovered ferromanganese crust-like oxides on underwater seamounts in the Pacific during basic oceanic geological scientific surveys, but they did not attract attention. Subsequently, the United States and Russia also conducted surveys of ferromanganese oxides on the Hawaiian Islands and Central Pacific seamounts, respectively. It was not until 1981, when the German research vessel "Sonne" took the lead in conducting a dedicated survey of cobalt-rich crusts in the Central Pacific, that cobalt-rich crusts truly received high attention from governments around the world and close attention from oceanographers. China opened the prelude to formal voyage surveys of cobalt-rich crusts in the mid-1990s.