Gold concentrations in seawater are very low, but when added together, the total amount of gold in the ocean reaches approximately 20 million tons.
An estimate by NOAA suggests there are approximately 20 million tons of gold in the seawater. Photo: Ana Babii
Scientists estimate that there is about one gram of gold dissolved in every 100 million tons of seawater in the Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. In other parts of the world, for example the Mediterranean Sea, the concentration of gold may be slightly higher, IFL Science reported on May 24.
Although very dilute, an older estimate by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggests there are approximately 20 million tons of gold in the Earth's seawater.
Determining the exact value of such a large quantity is difficult, especially since the price of gold is constantly fluctuating. However, according to an estimate from mid-May 2023, one ton of gold could be worth more than $57 billion. At this level, the gold in the world's oceans would be worth more than $1.14 trillion.
That number sounds appealing, but mining it is far from simple. Gold is extremely diluted in the vast ocean. Therefore, even an Olympic swimming pool would only contain a small amount of gold.
Currently, there is no cost-effective way to extract gold from the ocean and profit from it. A study published in Nature in 1941 presented an "electrochemical method" for extracting gold from seawater. However, the cost of this process was five times the value of the gold obtained.
Another study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 2018 described a material that could act like a sponge, helping to quickly extract small amounts of gold from seawater, freshwater, and even sewage sludge.
This method is said to be able to extract 934 milligrams of good quality gold in just two minutes. However, scaling it up to a profitable level remains extremely difficult. Currently, this technology is only being developed as a means to recover small amounts of gold lost during the production process.
Another aspect to consider is the potential impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. Experts are not yet certain exactly what large-scale gold mining from the sea will entail, but it is highly likely to have a negative impact on the marine environment. The extraction of rare metals from the deep seabed has already been undertaken and has the potential to cause serious harm.
Thu Thao (According to IFL Science )
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