With the current estimate for the concentration of gold in sea water as 10 ng-1 and the total volume of the oceans at 1.37 x 109 km3, the total quantity of gold dissolved in sea water is calculated to be 13.7 million tons. A lot of gold, but not extractable on a commercial basis as yet.
The most determined attempt to recover gold from sea water was undertaken by Fritz Haber, [F. Haber, Z. Angew. Chem. 1927, 40, 303.], who researched the matter extensively after the First World War. He wanted to find a way to pay Germany's war reparation debts.
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