Anyone who's read popular science knows that Earth's gold reserves are incalculable, with approximately 4.8 billion tons known to humanity. This might seem like an enormous, inexhaustible supply, but in reality, approximately 99% of the world's gold is located in the Earth's core, while only 600,000 tons reside in the crust, and humanity is capable of mining even less.

Statistics show that nearly 200,000 tons of gold have been mined since the beginning of human history. While this figure isn't large compared to the total gold reserves on Earth, it still represents nearly 80% of all gold available for mining.

In other words, without the emergence of new large-scale mineral resources, gold mining will become exhausted.

People have been trying, but have yet to find a cheap and efficient way to profitably mine gold from the ocean.

And now, they have China!

When the crystal-blue reactants leave the electrolytic magnets and enter the next cycle, a thin layer of golden powder appears in the storage room, which is so dazzling. Pure metal testing results show that it is undeniably gold powder.

The seawater continues to move to the next process. There are ten more such processing processes, all of which are aimed at extracting the major elements in seawater and collecting resources that are useful to the country.

Although this extraction process does not produce much at a time, the production line can operate continuously, and the cost is much safer than traditional mineral mining. Moreover, there is no pollution from various heavy metal mining, but it purifies the environment.

There are six grams of mercury for one gram of gold, and mercury has been used for centuries as a cheap and easy way to collect gold.

Especially in small-scale, illegal gold mining, miners first pump a sediment mixture from the riverbed into a trough and separate the gold using a technique called hydromining.

Next, because the purity of the initially separated gold is not high, it needs to be purified and a large amount of relatively cheap mercury is added to combine with the gold particles to form an amalgam. Finally, a torch is used to heat the amalgam, turning the mercury into vapor and leaving the gold.

Mercury contained in tailings or waste can contaminate nearby soil and aquatic ecosystems. Mercury vapor enters the atmosphere and can travel long distances before being deposited on land and water through rainfall or small dust particles.

This results in significant mercury pollution, an element that occurs naturally in the Earth's crust but is highly toxic to humans and animals, even at very low exposure levels. Microorganisms in the environment can convert mercury into methylmercury.

Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin that is harmful to humans and animals. When it reaches a certain concentration, it will damage the most important central nerves in the human body, causing irreversible consequences.

Now, China has finally developed new technology that can extract gold without pollution. China's gold reserves account for a relatively low proportion of the world's total, are not abundant, and the grade is not high. The mining cost is very high, and special equipment and special materials must be used, and the mining cycle is long.

However, China is the largest producer and consumer of gold. China's use and pursuit of gold spans ancient and modern times. Now, China's gold supply has finally been supplemented.

After smoothly passing through each processing workshop, the water, having undergone various extraction treatments, is filtered through ultrafiltration membranes, and the purified water flows into transparent, sealed water tanks. The clean, clear water, devoid of any fishy smell, is immediately sampled for inspection, just as the storage rooms at each process were previously inspected.

Soon, the results came out, and the results of ten sets of random inspections were realized.

"These are truly pure water molecules, the purest fresh water, pollution-free. All harmful substances have been completely filtered out. With the right amount of minerals added, it's truly a high-quality water source, meeting the standards for drinking water. It's countless levels higher than the tap water we use now!"

The head of quality inspection reported the good news again and again. His voice was hoarse, but he still reported excitedly at the top of his voice. He was really too excited.

As a child from the Northwest, he has a mysterious love and cherishment for water. As the person closest to the core team and a young talent being trained by the higher-ups, the person in charge of quality inspection knows that this water will later be transported to the Northwest through the North-to-North Water Diversion Project.

With this groundbreaking technology and abundant water resources like the ocean, the long-dry lands of the Northwest will no longer be short of water. No longer will the family wash their faces, hands, and feet with the same basin of water, something they cherished and dared not use.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down, be careful with your energy! Don't worry, the days ahead will be even better. We Chinese researchers have been constantly working hard to advance technology and are fighting on the front line!" Academician Han gently patted the shoulder of the person in charge opposite him, who could only be described as a young man. He could understand the boy's excitement.

Among those present here, the older generation, everyone has taken root and fought hard in the Northwest. Everyone knows the hardships and water shortages in the Northwest.

"Everything will be fine, everything will be fine!" Elder Cheng and his companions nodded expectantly. "The purified water we filter now will be integrated into parts of the local water network, gradually replacing the aging water plant. Planning for the Northward Diversion Project is already underway. New water pipelines have been developed, resistant to earthquakes, corrosion, and oxidation, ensuring they last for 30 to 50 years, or even a century!"

Each technological advancement brings them pride and confidence, and the courage to speak out loud about goals they once dared not think about or express. Technology brings progress, and a nation's self-confidence and self-reliance are built on a foundation of ever-increasing national strength, leading to ever-increasing self-respect, self-reliance, and self-confidence.

"We also need to build more desalination plant production lines in coastal areas so that we can connect them to the national water network. This will allow people across the country to drink safe water and no longer be troubled by drinking water pollution and water resource depletion!" The bigwigs in charge set the future development direction one by one. Everything is for the country and for a better life for the people.

They are the luckiest ones, to be able to witness the birth of such a miracle when they are approaching old age. While they are still able to work, they can still do practical things for the country and burn their strength.

"We, the old guys, need to work harder and quickly arrange all the remaining items. Don't always bother the higher-ups with these trivial matters!" At this point, the "higher-ups" they were referring to were referring to Wu Tong, the project's chief supervisor. Only they understood this.

Wu Tong's existence has now become top secret, leaving no room for any malicious forces to exploit it. Wu Tong's safety is of paramount importance, a matter that can influence the progress of the nation and cannot be ignored!