China digs a 10,000 meter deep ‘well’

Probably has a good echo: China’s deepest hole. (Source: Xataka)

The interior of the earth has always fascinated us humans. Jules Verne writes in 1864 The journey to the centre of the earth and even today some oddballs still believe in Hollow Earth.

So much in advance: China doesn’t hope to find lizard people.

It was announced just last week that China had completed construction of a 12,000-ton offshore drilling platform to tackle the project.

Where and how is drilling done?

China is drilling the deepest well in the country’s history in the oil-rich Tarim Basin. This is in the Xinjiang region, a Uighur autonomous region of the country. The reason: The land depression is drained by the Tarim River, the climate is extremely dry because it is in the middle of the Taklamakan Desert. Incidentally, China has been heavily criticized for its treatment of Uyghur residents, whom the country places in camps.

The hole itself will be very narrow, penetrating as many as ten continental layers. As the state news agency Xinhua reports, one wants to get to the Cretaceous rock that has been lying down there for 145 million years.

China is using 2,000-ton equipment consisting of high-tech drills and tubes. Sun Jinsheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, likens drilling to driving a big truck on two thin wires.

In this video, an expert explains how China is proceeding in detail:

Link to YouTube content

What is the goal?

The operation is already considered a milestone in earth exploration. China wants to use the mineral resources that are stored down there to further boost its own economy.

In addition, the previously unexplored composition of the earth’s crust should provide information on how to assess and predict environmental disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Is China drilling the deepest hole in the world?

In fact not. 10,000 meters is impressive, the deepest man-made hole to date is in Russia, more precisely on the Kola Peninsula. A depth of 12,262 meters was reached there in 1989.

The longest drilling also took place in Russia. The Sakhalin I project drill hole is 12,345 meters long and trending horizontal. At that time, oil and natural gas were to be extracted here.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also stated in 2022 that it wanted to drill for geothermal energy at a depth of around 20,000 meters in order to use it for electricity production.

Incidentally, these are figures that do not even scratch the surface of the earth. This only begins at a depth of between 30 and 60 kilometers.

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China is drilling 10 kilometers deep into the earth to secure raw materials that have been lying dormant down there for millions of years. It’s fascinating what technology and science are capable of these days. Do you think there are resources slumbering in the depths of the earth that we humans can use for ourselves? Feel free to discuss in the comments!