In every metric ton of seawater there is about 10^-² milligrams of gold and there is a heck of a lot of seawater in the oceans, so if you could come up with an extraction process, you'd be rich beyond the dreams of avarice.  Yup, just anchor your floating electrolysis factory off the coast and you'll be hauling out fifty-foot high plates of solid 24-karat goodness by the hundreds before you can say "Midas." 

Mind you, since you'd need to go through a cubic kilometre of seawater to extract only six kilogram's of gold (worth about $100,000) it costs far more to pump the water than the gold could ever be worth, so if you want to make any money on the deal I'd suggest keeping two sets of books and a first-class ticket on a fast plane to South America for when the investors find out.

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