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Volume 4: The Storms of World War II Chapter 514: Undersea Resources

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    The Northern Whale Fleet 60 sailed towards the southwest Pacific Ocean. It was not in a hurry to catch the journey, but took into account the fishery investigation and trial fishing as well as the ocean and seabed scientific research, and gradually sailed to the vicinity of Guam in the western Pacific waters.  The fleet's Jixiang aircraft carrier has become a scientific research carrying platform. Various small special-purpose aircraft on the aircraft carrier are constantly taking off and landing to conduct ocean surveys; the five scientific research submarines under the sea are also busy conducting seabed exploration.  Marine data for the sea area within a radius of 350 kilometers along the way was subsequently released.  On the accompanying Ark cruise ship and ocean research vessel, personnel from various relevant departments were busy working.

    The new Minister of Marine Industry Deng Shaolin flew over from Dili in East Timor. Chen Jiayong said: "Shaolin, congratulations on your promotion to minister! But I invited you here before you reported to Xi'an." Deng Shaolin smiled and said:  "Old chief, what are you talking about? Isn't the work of the Ministry of Marine Industry only on the ocean? It's because I missed the target. However, the sunken ships in the ocean have not been fished out yet, and you have given me a new job.  It's over." Chen Jiayong said: "There are shipwrecks every year, and they can only be divided into more and less. Have you managed to salvage them all? It's just that you have to continue salvaging. It is not only a good deed as a 'sea scavenger', but also a huge sum of money.  Profits, this work has been assigned to the Marine Salvage Bureau. Ye Fei from the Shanghai Shipyard was promoted to the director of the Inland Water Transport Administration. You can only stay and work on the sea. There is no time to wait for the development of the ocean, and the marine industry is one of them.  An important aspect, the task is very heavy." Chen Jiayong opened the curtain of the map and pointed: "The area of ??the inland sea under our jurisdiction has reached one-third of the country, involving oil, natural gas, and oil in the coastal zone.  Comprehensive utilization of fishery and aquaculture resources, ecological balance and environmental protection, etc., to ensure the sustainable development of the coastal economy. This work is managed by the newly established Coastal Integrated Management Bureau, and Mai Dehai has been transferred to the director. Your Marine Industry  The main task of the bureau is to conduct mineral exploration and extraction in the open sea, or even on the seabed of the high seas. The Government Affairs Council has transferred personnel from the General Industry Bureau, the Ministry of Geology, the Ministry of Petroleum, the Ministry of Marine Transport and other departments to build a team for your ministry.  Some personnel have already started working on the Ark cruise ship and scientific research vessel."

    Deng Shaolin said to Chen Jiayong: "I have accumulated a lot of experience in dredging and salvaging sunken ships under the seabed over the years. Mining is probably similar. I am confident that I can do this job well. What minerals can be mined on the seabed have been identified?  "Chen Jiayong asked Cao Daxiang, a senior engineer of marine geology who was accompanying him, to introduce the general situation:

    With the development of industry and economy in the world, the consumption of mineral resources has increased dramatically, and terrestrial mineral resources are becoming increasingly scarce and depleted globally.  People can only regard the ocean, which accounts for more than 71% of the earth's surface area, as a future source of minerals.

    Seabed Minerals In addition to oil and natural gas, the seabed is also rich in metallic and non-metallic minerals.  So far, 600 billion tons of mineral resources such as polymetallic nodules, phosphate ores, precious metals and rare element placers, and sulfide ores have been discovered on the seabed.  If the more than 16 billion tons of polymetallic nodules deposited in the Pacific Ocean were mined, the nickel could be used by the world for 20,000 years; the cobalt could be used for 340,000 years; the manganese could be used for 180,000 years; and the copper could be used for 1,000 years.  What¡¯s even more interesting is that we found that seabed manganese nodule ores (containing manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, nickel, titanium, vanadium, zirconium, molybdenum and other metals) are still growing, and they will never be destroyed by human mining.  disappear in the future.  It is estimated that manganese nodules on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean are growing at a rate of about 10 million tons per year.  If we only extract metals from the newly grown manganese nodules at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean every year, copper can be used by the world for three years; cobalt can be used for four years; and nickel can be used for one year.  Manganese nodules, the "jewels" in the depths of the ocean, are an inexhaustible and valuable resource in the world.

    There are almost all kinds of resources in the ocean that are found on land, and there are also some resources that are not found on land.  The following six categories have been discovered so far:

    1.  Petroleum gas.  It is estimated that the world's ultimate oil reserves are 1 trillion tons, and the recoverable reserves are 300 billion tons, including 135 billion tons of seabed oil; the world's natural gas reserves are 25.5 to 28 billion cubic meters, and marine reserves account for 14 billion cubic meters.  Annual offshore oil production accounts for 50% of the world's total oil production.  China's oil and gas reserves in adjacent sea areas are about 4 to 5 billion tons.  Due to the discovery of rich offshore oil and gas resources, China has become one of the world's five largest oil producers.  2.  Coal, iron and other solid minerals.  Coal and iron deposits are already being mined on many of the world's nearshore seabeds.  It is also mined in Chile, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Tš¹rkiye.  We discovered one of the world's largest iron ore deposits on the seabed near the archipelago of Kyushu.  Many undersea tin deposits have also been discovered in Southwest Asia.  There are more than 20 kinds of seabed solid minerals that have been discovered.  Copper, coal, sulfur, phosphorus, limestone and other minerals are widely distributed in the shallow sea areas of the Chinese continental shelf.  3£®  Seaside sand mine.  There are many precious minerals in seaside sediments, such as: rutile containing titanium, a solid fuel used in launching rockets; monazite containing niobium used in rockets and aircraft casings, and tantalum used in reactors and microcircuit; containing high-temperature-resistant titanium used in nuclear submarines and nuclear reactors.  and corrosion-resistant zircon ore and zircon; in some sea areas there are also gold, platinum and silver.  China OffshoreThe area also contains gold, zircon, ilmenite, monazite, chromium spinel and other placers with extremely high economic value.  4.  Polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich manganese crusts.  Polymetallic nodules contain dozens of elements such as manganese, iron, nickel, cobalt, and copper.  There are approximately 3 trillion tons of polymetallic nodules stored on the ocean floor at a depth of 3,500 to 6,000 meters in the world's oceans.  Among them, manganese reserves can be used by the world for 18,000 years, and nickel can be used for 25,000 years.  At present, more than 2 million square kilometers of area have been surveyed in the Pacific Ocean, of which more than 300,000 square kilometers are prospective mining areas with mining value.  Cobalt-rich manganese crusts are stored on the seafloor at a depth of 300 to 4,000 meters and are easy to mine.  The General Directorate of Industry has designed and manufactured a number of mining systems.  5.  Hydrothermal mineral deposits.  It is a sulfide containing a large amount of metal. It is formed by the cooling and deposition of high-temperature magma ejected from submarine rifts. More than 30 deposits have been discovered.  The reserves in the Marshall Islands alone amount to 25 million tons, with a mining value of 3.9 billion Asian dollars.  6£®  Combustible ice.  It is a new type of mineral called a natural gas water mixture. It is an icy solid material composed of hydrocarbons and water molecules under low temperature and high pressure conditions.  It has high energy density, few impurities, almost no pollution after combustion, thick ore layer, large scale, wide distribution and rich resources.  Global reserves of combustible ice are estimated to be twice as large as existing oil and gas reserves.  A large area of ??flammable ice has been discovered.  Combustible ice has also been found in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.  It is estimated that the flammable ice resources in the South China Sea alone amount to 70 billion tons of fuel equivalent, which is equivalent to approximately 1% of China¡¯s current total onshore oil and gas resources.

    2.  As the world's oil and gas resources are gradually depleted, the discovery of flammable ice has brought new hope to mankind.

    Because humans have not yet fully investigated the polar seas and vast deep sea areas, it is difficult to know how many seabed minerals there are in the ocean.

    Another important resource is rare earths.  The term rare earth is a name left over from history.  Rare earth elements began to be discovered in the late 18th century. At that time, people often referred to solid oxides that were insoluble in water as earth.  Rare earths are generally separated in the oxide state and are very rare, so they are named rare earths.  Lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium and europium are usually called light rare earths or cerium group rare earths; gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium and yttrium are called heavy rare earths or yttrium group rare earths.  Some also divide rare earth elements into three groups based on the similarities and differences in their physical and chemical properties, except for scandium (some classify scandium as a scattered element), that is, the light rare earth group is lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, and promethium;  The medium rare earth group is samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, and dysprosium; the heavy rare earth group is holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and yttrium.

    Rare earths have a wide range of uses.  In the military aspect: Rare earths are known as the "gold" of industry. Due to their excellent optical, electromagnetic and other physical properties, they can be combined with other materials to form a wide variety of new materials with different properties. The most significant function of them is that they can greatly improve other materials.  Product quality and performance.  For example, the technical performance of steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and titanium alloys used to manufacture tanks, aircraft, and missiles will be greatly improved.  Moreover, rare earths are also lubricants for many high-tech industries such as electronics, lasers, nuclear industry, and superconductivity.  Once rare earth technology is used in the military, it will inevitably lead to a leap in military technology.

    In the metallurgical industry: adding rare earth metals or fluorides and silicides to steel can refining, desulfurizing, neutralizing harmful impurities with low melting points, and improving the processing performance of steel; rare earth ferrosilicon alloys and rare earth silicon magnesium alloys are used as  Nodulizing agent produces rare earth ductile iron. Since this kind of ductile iron is particularly suitable for producing complex ductile iron parts with special requirements, it is widely used in machinery manufacturing industries such as automobiles, tractors, and diesel engines. Rare earth metals are added to magnesium, aluminum, copper,  In non-ferrous alloys such as zinc and nickel, it can improve the physical and chemical properties of the alloy and improve the room temperature and high temperature mechanical properties of the alloy.

    In the petrochemical industry: Molecular sieve catalysts made of rare earths have the advantages of high activity, good selectivity, and strong resistance to heavy metal poisoning, so they have replaced aluminum silicate catalysts in the petroleum catalytic cracking process; in the production of ammonia, they are used  A small amount of rare earth nitrate is used as a cocatalyst, and its processing gas volume is 1.5 times larger than that of the nickel-aluminum catalyst; in the process of synthesizing butadiene rubber and isoprene rubber, the rare earth naphthenate-triisobutyl aluminum type catalyst is used, and the product performance obtained  It is excellent and has the advantages of less glue on equipment, stable operation, and short post-processing procedures; the composite rare earth oxide can also be used as an exhaust gas purification catalyst for internal combustion engines, and cerium naphthenate can also be used as a paint drier.

    In terms of glass ceramics: rare earth oxides or processed rare earth concentrates can be used as polishing powder and are widely used in the polishing of optical glass, eyeglass lenses, picture tubes, oscilloscope tubes, flat glass, plastics and metal tableware; in melted glass  During the process, cerium dioxide can be used to have a strong oxidation effect on iron, reducing the iron content in the glass to achieve the purpose of removing the green color in the glass; adding rare earth oxides can produce optical glass and special glass for different purposes.  These include glass that can pass infrared rays, absorb ultraviolet rays, acid-resistant and heat-resistant glass, X-ray-proof glass, etc. Adding rare earths to ceramic glazes and enamels can reduce the fragmentation of the glaze and make the products present different colors.  color and luster and are widely used in the ceramic industry.

      In terms of new materials: rare earth cobalt and neodymium, iron, and boron permanent magnet materials have high remanence, high coercivity and high magnetic energy product, and are widely used in the electronics and aerospace industries; pure rare earth oxides and dioxide trioxide  Garnet-type ferrite single crystals and polycrystals made of iron can be used in the microwave and electronic industries; yttrium aluminum garnet and neodymium glass made of high-purity neodymium oxide can be used as solid laser materials; rare earth hexaboride can be used  Making cathode materials for electron emission; lanthanum nickel metal is a hydrogen storage material; lanthanum chromate is a high-temperature thermoelectric material; in recent years, we have used barium-based oxides modified with barium yttrium copper oxide elements to make superconducting materials that can operate at liquid nitrogen temperatures  The area obtained superconductors, making breakthrough progress in the development of superconducting materials.  In addition, rare earths are also widely used in lighting sources, projection TV phosphors, intensifying screen phosphors, three-primary color phosphors, and copy lamp powders. In agriculture, applying trace amounts of rare earth nitrate to field crops can increase their yield by 5~  10%; in the light textile industry, rare earth chlorides are also widely used in fur tanning, fur dyeing, wool dyeing and carpet dyeing.

    Agricultural effects: Research results show that rare earth elements can increase the chlorophyll content of plants, enhance photosynthesis, promote root development, and increase root absorption of nutrients.  Rare earths can also promote seed germination, increase seed germination rate, and promote seedling growth.  In addition to the above main functions, it also has the ability to enhance disease resistance, cold resistance and drought resistance of certain crops.  A large number of studies have also proven that the use of appropriate concentrations of rare earth elements can promote the absorption, transformation and utilization of nutrients by plants.  When corn is seed-dressed with rare earth, the seedlings and jointings are 1 to 2 days earlier than the control, the plant height is increased by 0.2 meters, the corn is matured 3 to 5 days earlier, and the grains are plump, increasing the yield by 14%.  When soybeans are seeded with rare earth, the emergence of soybeans is one day earlier, the number of pods per plant is increased by 14.8 to 26.6, the number of 3 pods is increased, and the yield is increased by 14.5% to 20.0%.  Spraying rare earths can increase the vc content, total sugar content, and sugar-acid ratio of apple and citrus fruits, and promote fruit coloration and early ripening.  It can also inhibit the respiration intensity during storage and reduce the decay rate

    Cao Daxiang went on to introduce: We first conducted exploration in a large area of ????the sea with the scientific research ship that entered the central Pacific to take over the fleet.  Analyzes were conducted on seafloor stratigraphic samples collected at approximately 80 locations.  The results show that approximately 8.8 million square kilometers of sea area in the central Pacific, including the Hawaiian Islands, and approximately 2.4 million square kilometers of sea area near the French island of Tahiti in the southeastern Pacific contain high concentrations of rare earths in seafloor mud at a water depth of 3,500 to 6,000 meters.  resource.  The rare earth concentration is about 400 to 2230 ppm, which is comparable to the rare earth mines in southern my country.  It is estimated that the rare earth reserves in the sea area are about 90 billion tons, which is 800 times the currently known land reserves of 11 million tons.  According to this data, rare earth reserves within a radius of only two kilometers can meet China's annual rare earth demand of 30,000 tons.  Researchers estimate that in some seabeds with high rare earth content, the amount of rare earths extracted from one square kilometer of seabed mud is equivalent to about one-fifth of the current global annual demand for rare earths.  From a technical point of view, seabed rare earth mining only requires sucking up silt, and it does not contain radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium that are associated with land rare earth deposits, so it is easy to extract and refine.  However, the distribution range of submarine rare earths is mostly in the high seas.

    Deng Shaolin's eyes shone when she heard this, and she said excitedly: "I understand why we have to work so hard to occupy such a wide ocean. These things under the sea are treasures. We must act quickly!" Chen Jiayong said:  "This is much more meaningful than salvaging a sunken ship. At present, there are not many countries with the ability to mine minerals in the deep sea. Taking rare earths as an example, the only countries that currently use large amounts of rare earths are the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Canada and other countries.  However, in peacetime, with the development of industrial construction in various countries, the demand can only become larger and larger. This is not a single mining behavior, but a kind of possession of seabed resources in terms of materials and technology. With the war,  is over, the battle for seabed resources has actually begun again, and we have to get ahead as quickly as possible.¡±
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