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Korschinek ended up using a ferromanganese crust dredged from a North Pacific seamount by the German research ship Valdivia in 1976.

In Science today, researchers led by Anton Wallner of the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf report a new analysis of a 2.5 centimeter thick ferromanganese crust from the Pacific Ocean.

Researchers gathered samples of ferromanganese crusts, slow-growing deposits in which just a few centimeters of the stuff, laid down in layers over time, represent millions of years of history.

Called ferromanganese crust, it can contain high concentrations of cobalt, tellurium, and rare-earth elements used in electronics such as wind turbines, batteries, and solar panels.

Three features are the prime targets of seabed mining interests: polymetallic sulfides occurring near hydrothermal vents, ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic nodules.