Evening star., 1936-08-02
OCEAN MINERALS
WORTH MILLIONS
Assay Shows Ingredients
Valued at 5 Billions in
Cubic Mile of Sea.
BY HOWARD w. BLAKESLEE.

copyright. 1886, by the Associated Presso
NEW YORK, August IA cubic
mile of the Atlantic Ocean OF North
Carolina carried this year dissolved
in It's water enough mineral wealth
to pay the United States veterans
war bonus twice.
T'-e assay which shows this, an ac-
tual analysis of the contents of one
square mile of the Atlantic, rs feet
deep, was announced yesterday by the
Ethyl-Dow Co. in report Of its ex-
traction of bromine from sea water at
Kure Beach, near Wilmington, N. c.
In IL months this square mile car
fied a potential mineral treasure, as
pumped through the bromine plant,
estimated at S73094, 600 by the COM
pany's experts. There were 13 minerals
and chemicals in this list. OF them
only the bromine, at about $4,000
pounds day, was extracted.
But just to prove that the other
treasures also can be extracted little
gold has been taken from the sea at
this plant,
If the 76-foot depth were extended to
the equivalent of mile deep, the cubic
mile would have contained in one
year more than $4,000, 100000 worth Of
minerals.
Used in Loaded Gasolines.
The bromine is used in all loaded
easolines. So much Of it was taken
from the Atlantic that about out
of every 3 gallons of gasoline used in
the United States last year contained
q little of this Atlantic sea water stuff.
1t took several gallons of ocean to sup
ply enough bromine for / gallon of
gasoline
The other minerals unrecovered are
estimated by the assay at 2,491,340
tons from the 76-foot depth.
These were 86 pounds of gold, valued
at $4,000 and equivalent to a ball s
inches in diameter.
Silver. 135 tons; value, $25, ,120;
ball about feet in diameter.
Common salt, 1881 900 tons: worth
at present market price, s24,500000.
EPSON salts, 4648OO tons; value,
Sl7,660O0o. Enough for eight pounds
for each Of 12OOOO,OO0 persons.
Calcium chloride, 100000 tons;
worth S2,200,000. It would help main
tain about 10000 miles of sand, clay
and gravel roads or help cure 1000
miles of concrete.
Potassium chloride, 52,250 tons;
worth s4,1So,0OO. This would make
about 100000 tons of potash fer
tilizer.
Would Make 100000 Gondolas.
Magnesium, Al 900 tons; value, $40
$4,000; enough to make 100000
stratosphere gondolas similar to those
Used in recent fights.
Aluminium, l19 tons; worth, S45, 100.
Or pistons for about $4,000 autos.
Copper, 79 tons: worth s1.500;
enough to make 800 miles of No. IS
telephone wire.
Iodine, 276 tons; worth, S8,2S0. 1t
would make about $4,000 gallons Of
tincture of iodine for first aid pur-
poses.
Iron, 1875 tons: valued at $500.
Strontium carbonate, 1873 tons;
worth $82, 800.
The value of these potential prod
ucts totals $69, 600. This leaves
s4,278,000 needed to complete the $73,-
oe4,00o given by the assay as the
years total. Whether this balance is
the value of bronine alone is not
stated.
These are not all the minerals in sea
water. Distribution of the minerals,
even of gold. varies. But the North
Carolina Coast waters are about aver
age. The total cubic miles of sea
water on earth are estimated at about
300,O00,0Oo. On that basis the present
assay makes the water potentially
worth sl,500000, ,0O0, 0,0O0,O00,0O0 or
$500 quadrillion dollars.
In this recovery the water Is not
wasted. It runs back into the sea, and
apparently there is as much of it as
ever. In the bromine plant $4,000 gal
Ions of sea water is pumped through
every minute. The plant has been in
operation three years. The announced
grand total extractions are more than
10000 tons of bromine and one pin
head of gold.