Source: Reuters
Author: Zoe Tabary
Ransom-hungry pirates, polar explorers, offshore oil giants – the race for the riches of the world’s final frontier is on.
From Thailand to Alaska, the battle to tap ever-dwindling resources from minerals to fish is spurring new conflicts over who has the right to the treasures of the deep seas.
As India, China and Brazil seek new sources of cobalt, copper and nickel to build the gadgets demanded by their booming populations, they are preparing to mine a new realm – the dark depths of the ocean.
Over the next decade India will spend more than $1 billion to develop and test deep-sea technologies – including human-piloted exploration submarines – in the Indian Ocean that could give access to once inaccessible mineral riches up to 6.8 miles (11 km) under water.
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