On World Oceans Day this past weekend, I decided to go diving for some new facts. Because, as you know (since I keep telling you over and over and over again), I really love to learn new stuff.
And there is no shortage of fun facts to discover about our oceans. After all, the planet’s surface is mostly water. Seventy percent of it, to be precise—but I bet you knew that one already.
Anyway, what new thing did I learn this weekend?
Get this. Researchers estimate that about 20 MILLION TONS of gold—worth roughly $750 TRILLION—exists in the ocean water!
Amazing, right? Yes. But there’s a hitch. Of course!
Similar to the microscopic amounts of gold found in our body’s blood, the precious metal that is found in the ocean’s water is so diluted, that it can only be measured in parts per trillion. Basically, in 100 million tons of seawater, there’s probably only about one gram of gold.
The experts over at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) also tell us that there is gold in the seafloor. But it’s so deep, that once you even reach it, the gold deposits in the floor are covered in rock that you would then need to mine through. Not an easy task.
And currently, there is no cost-effective method to do any of this. Sigh.
Unless you’ve got any ideas?