I once found a R100 note in an old pair of jeans, so I have an inkling of what this South Korean salvage team must be feeling.

They’ve discovered the wreck of Russian Imperial Navy cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi, sunk in a naval battle 113 years ago, “at a depth of more than 1 400 feet about one mile off the South Korean island of Ulleungdo”.

That’s according to CNBC, but what’s so newsworthy about an old, rusty ship off the coast of South Korea?

Gold:

[The warship] is believed to still contain 200 tons of gold bullion and coins worth 150 trillion won ($130 billion).

…a joint team made up of experts from South Korea, Britain and Canada discovered the wreck on Sunday. They had used two manned submersibles to capture footage of the vessel…

There are reports that the Dmitrii Donskoi, which was scuttled during the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, went down with 5,500 boxes of gold bars and coins still in its holds to stop the Japanese seizing it.

The Seoul-based Shinil Group, which led the exploration that found the ship, hopes to raise it in October or November. It estimates the gold would have a value today of around $130 billion.

Should help them recoup the costs of the mission, even if they will give half of the bounty to the Russian government.

Some footage of the wreck:

A wreck of a Russian warship found is believed to hold gold worth $130 billion. https://t.co/omY9dCVDyu pic.twitter.com/zpSJ07xNaR

— CNBC (@CNBC) July 18, 2018

Shinil Group added that it intends to invest 10% of the remainder in tourism projects on Ulleungdo Island.

I guess it’s like how we make Seth buy us lottery tickets, and then wheel and deal over the amount we’ll be getting if we hit the jackpot.

Take for example tomorrow night’s Mega Millions draw – $422 million, or around R5,6 billion. Even if we can nick 5% of that bounty, we’ll be dividing up R280 million.

Don’t worry boss, we’ll still be pitching up for work on Monday, though.

[source:cnbc]