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As companies eye the best patches of ocean to search for the precious sulphides and nodules, dubbed “truffles of the ocean,” the waters near the Saya de Malha Bank have emerged as an attractive target.

The researchers calculated the present destruction rate of water, carbon dioxide and carbonyl sulphide molecules in Venus' atmosphere, which must be restored by volcanic gases to keep the atmosphere stable.

This suggested that microscopic plankton living on the surface of the seas produce sulfur in the form of a gas, dimethyl sulphide, that once in the atmosphere, oxidizes and forms small particles called aerosols.

"They are highly vulnerable to corrosion," and to CO2, or hydrogen sulphide, both of which are found in subsea well environments, he said.

India, China, Germany and South Korea already have exploration licences for polymetallic sulphides in the Indian Ocean ridge area.