MOSCOW (Commodity Online) : Two days after China got permission to explore Indian Ocean for iron ore, Russia was granted authorisation to explore the ocean bed of the Atlantic ocean for gold and copper.
The UN’s International Seabed Authority (ISA) gave the thumbs-up to a proposal tabled by Russia in Dec. 2010, opening up one of the largest untapped fields of rare metals on the planet, reported Kommersant business daily.
Atlantic Ocean bed is considered the world's largest untapped copper and gold deposits with reserves five to 10 times higher than that of onshore fields.
Russia has 15 years to explore its slice of the ocean floor, which is in the northern equatorial zone of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, and confirm the extent of the ore. The metals are expected to be found 2-4 km below the sea bed.
The initial contract comes with an optional five-year extension, and Russia will have preferential rights to develop the field if projected yields match expectations.
Investment in the exploration of the area located near the equator may amount to $20-43 million in next five years,.
The average copper content in ore in onshore deposits amounted to about one percent compared to 2.5-10 percent in offshore deposits.
Russia does not have the necessary equipment for exploration and would have to attract a foreign partner, most likely Canada's Nautilus Minerals, in which Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov holds a 20 percent stake, a Natural Resources Ministry source said.
Russia is also preparing a request to explore cobalt and iron and manganese deposits in the bed of the Pacific Ocean, which the UN will consider next year
And the work is also connected with Russia’s efforts to secure access to potential hydrocarbon reserves in the Arctic: Andreyev’s VNIIO oceanology group is also defining the limits of Russia’s continental shelf and territorial rights under the ice cap.
