China to Develop Its Underwater Mining Industry

According to The Register, China is trying to master the ocean by developing a deep-sea station to conduct underwater mining.

China Ship Scientific Research Centre announced the plans for the nuclear powered mobile deep-sea station earlier this year.

The station will have propellers to move underwater and several ports to allow smaller craft to dock with it. The dimensions will be 60.2m x 15.8m x 9.7m, the weigh will be about 2,600 tones, and it will have enough room for 33 crew members.

China is currently constructing a prototype of the station that can carry 12 crew members on an 18-day expedition. Expected delivery of the prototype is in 2015.

The launch of a full-size station is predicted to be in 2030.

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Subsea World News Staff , July 09, 2012;  Image: Nautilus Minerals