The deep sea contains many important and rare minerals, and countries are striving to develop technology capable of extracting these minerals in an efficient, economical, and non-harmful way to marine life.

China has announced a new breakthrough in deep-sea mining, as the Kaituo 2 mining vehicle has managed to reach a depth of over 4 kilometers and collect more than 200 kilograms of rocks and crusts rich in minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese.

Developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University to reach a depth of 6 kilometers and was recently tested during 5 consecutive dives, 4 of which reached depths of around 2 kilometers and one of which reached 4.1 km, the first time a Chinese mining vehicle has reached this depth.

Equipped with advanced technologies, Kautuo 2 autonomously operates on the seabed, navigating even the most challenging terrain to perform drilling operations.

It is 6 meters long, 3 meters wide, 2.5 meters high, and weighs about 14 tons. It is equipped with an environmental monitoring system to monitor the impact of drilling operations and their results and the noise it generates on marine life.

Many countries are developing vehicles for mining marine minerals, the most famous of which are: the Japanese Shinkai vehicle, which reaches a depth of 6.5 kilometers, and the Russian Mir, which reaches a depth of 6 kilometers.