Marine metal mineral resources-potential source area for sustainable development of people on earth

JiWen TENG, YuChen WANG, GuoBin TANG

Prog Geophy ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1) : 1-42.

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Prog Geophy ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1) : 1-42. DOI: 10.6038/pg2026JJ0203

Marine metal mineral resources-potential source area for sustainable development of people on earth

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Abstract

The continents and the oceans are the two members of the earth family. They are all "Earths". The "Earths" cultivate, lived and multiplied on the land and sea, and together maintain social progress, economic prosperity, and the development of science and technology. And continue to create the future. The ocean occupies 70.8% of the total area on this earth, and contains rich and diversified various metal mineral resources. It is a strategic base for the sustainable development of the demand and supply of metal mineral resources in human society. To this end, the main issues discussed in this article are: (1) my country's inland important mineral resources are in short supply, the situation is grim and where to go! (2) Marine mineral resources are abundant, diverse, and have great potential, (3) Submarine metal nodule mineral resources gather, (4) Discovery of many metal sulfide deposits and natural gold in the Indian Ocean, (5) Marine mineral resources in China Exploration and discovery. Obviously, marine mineral resources, exploration, development and utilization are the inevitable trajectory of my country's construction and sustainable development!

Key words

Continent / Ocean / Metal mineral resources / Metal nodules / Potential

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JiWen TENG , YuChen WANG , GuoBin TANG. Marine metal mineral resources-potential source area for sustainable development of people on earth[J]. Progress in Geophysics. 2026, 41(1): 1-42 https://doi.org/10.6038/pg2026JJ0203

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