A Mineral Storehause
129
about 25 per cent eîcient. The volume of sea—water processed each
year would contain a total of 6,400,000 million tons of salt, 240
million tons of magnesium, 160 million tons of sulphur, 800,000
tons of b‘0ron, 2,000 tons of aluminium and several hundred tons of
manganese, copper and uranium. Mero even went on to note that,
if the uranium and thorium could be recovered, they could probably
provide the fuel for nuclear reactdrs which would generate the
energy required for the conversion plant.
Attractive as this and similar proposals may be, they are still
necessarily highly speculative and the techniques needed for extract—
ing and processing so many different materials on such a Scale will
not be available for many a year to come. In fact, disregarding the
availability of such a plant, the necessary nancial incentives ever
seriously to consider such grandiose schemes will not become real
until the terrestrial resources of many of these materials have become
seriously depleted. In the immediate future, we are left with the
‘
likelihood of a growing emphasis on resources such as sand, gravel,
‘
phosphorite and manganese nodules, and oil and natural gas within.
the continental shelf areas out to a depth of 200 metres. Neverthe—
less, those people willing to look beyond into the future and {even
past their own rlifetimes can take comfort in the:vastriess of the
marine mineral store.
'
,
129
about 25 per cent eîcient. The volume of sea—water processed each
year would contain a total of 6,400,000 million tons of salt, 240
million tons of magnesium, 160 million tons of sulphur, 800,000
tons of b‘0ron, 2,000 tons of aluminium and several hundred tons of
manganese, copper and uranium. Mero even went on to note that,
if the uranium and thorium could be recovered, they could probably
provide the fuel for nuclear reactdrs which would generate the
energy required for the conversion plant.
Attractive as this and similar proposals may be, they are still
necessarily highly speculative and the techniques needed for extract—
ing and processing so many different materials on such a Scale will
not be available for many a year to come. In fact, disregarding the
availability of such a plant, the necessary nancial incentives ever
seriously to consider such grandiose schemes will not become real
until the terrestrial resources of many of these materials have become
seriously depleted. In the immediate future, we are left with the
‘
likelihood of a growing emphasis on resources such as sand, gravel,
‘
phosphorite and manganese nodules, and oil and natural gas within.
the continental shelf areas out to a depth of 200 metres. Neverthe—
less, those people willing to look beyond into the future and {even
past their own rlifetimes can take comfort in the:vastriess of the
marine mineral store.
'
,