Underwater Mountain Sparks Spain-Morocco Dispute Over Green Energy Resources

The underwater Tropico is an inactive volcano submerged in the sea. It measures about 3,000 meters from the base and its summit measures about 1,000 meters. It has existed for 120 million years and is part of the mountain range known as the "Canary Grandmothers" such as Paps, Bimbache, Drago and Echo.

This mountain has a significant amount of certain minerals and industrial raw materials such as tellurium, used in the production of solar panels. The tellurium reserves on the Tropico submarine are 6,000 times higher than those available in Australia, Romania, the United States and Mexico, the four countries where this component can be found on the planet.

In addition to tellurium, the Tropico submarine is also teeming with cobalt, a material used in the production of electric car batteries. The cobalt deposits on this volcano are 414 times the total available on land. Similarly, rare earths, an essential element for the production of the large magnets that make up wind turbines, are abundant on this submarine.

It also contains lead, barium, vanadium and nickel, all necessary for the development of green energy. The Tropico submarine mountain is located outside the Spanish continental shelf and Moroccan waters, reports ecoticias. In 2014, Spain had asked the UN to extend its maritime borders to 350 miles. But this request is still under study. For its part, Morocco has unilaterally extended its continental shelf, integrating the Sahrawi waters and part of the Spanish waters where the Tropico Mount is located.