43. Can gold, silver, platinum, or diamonds be mined from 

 the sea? 



Diamonds and gold are now being dredged from the ocean floor in 

 several areas of the world. Off the southwest coast of Africa more than 

 one-half million carats of diamonds have been dredged from the sea 

 floor since 1952. The ship ROCKEATER, owned by a United States 

 company, is dredging about $200,000 worth of diamonds a month from 

 depths as great as 200 feet. The diamonds are found in mixtures of sand, 

 gravel, and boulders. Although the diamonds can be separated easily, 

 the operation is not yet profitable because present dredging techniques 

 cannot handle the large quantities of sand economically. 



The coast of Alaska near Nome has attracted many companies in- 

 terested in dredging for gold. Beach sands along the Nome Gold Coast 

 yielded 100 million dollars worth of gold during the gold rush; these 

 same sands are known to extend beneath the ocean. About 600 off- 

 shore prospecting permits have been issued, covering about a million and 

 a half acres off the Alaskan coast. 



Exploration is now being conducted along the coasts of North Caro- 

 lina and Oregon to determine whether gold can be dredged economically 

 in these areas. 



Carlisle, Norman V. 



Riches of the Sea, Sterling Publishing Co., 1967. 

 Pell, Claiborne (Senator) 



Challenge of the Seven Seas, William Morrow and Company, 1966. 

 U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office 



Science and the Sea, Washington, D. C, 1967. 



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