Chinese Submarine Dives into Indian Ocean
A Chinese submarine has started to search an area of the Indian Ocean for seabed deposits of gold, silver, copper and zinc, in a four-month-long mission.
A Chinese submersible vessel has been conducting its first deep dive in the Indian Ocean in search of rare metals. It will collect samples of hydrothermal fluid and sulfide, which is a kind of seabed deposit that contains copper, zinc and many precious metals such as gold and silver, official Xinhua news agency said.
The project, which involves exploring the Indian Ocean for 120 days, reflects China's hunger for resources, sources say. The vessel will also obtain samples of rocks, sediment and water from selected spots in the India Ocean.
The project enables researchers to see active hydrothermal vent and polymetallic sulfide in seabed and examine the environment in selected sites, the mission's top scientist, Tao Chunhui, said. The data will play a significant role in China's future research on polymetallic sulfide, Tao added. Different metals become sulfides after chemical reactions and come to rest in the seabed in "chimney vents".
The Chinese submersible vessel is called Jiaolong, a name inspired from a mythical dragon. China has also tested a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, Longzhu.
February 2025
