A REVIEW AND PERSPECTIVE OF SUBMARINE HYDROTHERMAL DEPOSITS STUDIES IN CHINA

A brief review is made on the history of submarine hydrothermal deposits researches in China. The history could be divided into five stages. Take into consideration the global exploration and exploitation activities of relevant mineral resources, we suggest that China should select some parts of international seabed with large reserve of submarine hydrothermal deposits, low mining cost and high return on the basis of the survey data in hands and make application for mining privilege from the International Seabed authority as early as possible. Meantime, China should concentrate its survey cruises more on enclosure of rich areas, and at the same time, invest more on development of mining technology as preparation for future exploitation of the resources.