Beijing: China has used a domestically made underwater robot to study polymetallic sulfide in the southwest Indian Ocean, where it has procured an exploration contract for 15 years.
Scientists aboard the "Dayang-1" oceanic research vessel remotely operated the "Hailong" unmanned underwater vehicle on five occasions from late January to early February, with one of their five attempts failing, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said in a statement on Thursday.
They gained new understanding of the characteristics of the carbonate area within China`s exploration contract area, the SOA said.
This detailed information is important for China`s future research in the polymetallic sulfide exploration, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
China had gained approval in 2012 to explore a 10,000 sq km polymetallic sulphide ore deposit in an international seabed region of the southwest?Indian Ocean.
The 15-year approval was secured by China from the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
China has also obtained exclusive rights to prospect in a 75,000-square-km polymetallic nodule ore deposit in the east Pacific?Ocean?in 2001.
The hydrothermal sulfide is a kind of sea-bed deposit containing copper, zinc and precious metals such as gold and silver.
Those metals formed sulfides after chemical reactions and came to rest in the seabed in "chimney vents".
Chief expedition scientist Tao Chunhui said the high-precision positioning, real-time control, observation, picture-taking and sampling in this task could not have been achieved with conventional survey methods.
