BUENOS AIRES, August 3 (RIA Novosti) - Some 9.5 tons of gold and silver ore worth $21.5 million have been raised to the surface from a sunken ship off the coast of southern Argentina, according to regional media.

The Polar Mist, which sank off Patagonia during a severe storm on January 18, was carrying the valuable cargo to Santiago, Chile, for shipment by air to Switzerland.

For several weeks, some 20 Argentine and Chilean divers, along with specialists from the Dutch company Mammoet, brought the load up from depths of 80 meters (260 ft) to the surface. The cost of recovering the precious metals is estimated at $4 million. Divers say some 400 kilograms of gold and silver ore was lost during the operations and remains on the ocean floor. The cost of recovering the ore exceeds its market value.

Mammoet was responsible in 2002 for raising Russia's Kursk nuclear submarine, which sank in 2000 in the Barents Sea. All 118 sailors on board the Russian vessel died.

The Polar Mist was hit by a severe storm after it had passed through the Strait of Magellan and sent out an S.O.S. The Argentine Coast Guard reacted to the signal and rescued all seven crew members.

Two days later, the abandoned vessel was discovered by a Chilean tugboat, the Beagle, which tried to tow it into port. However The Polar Mist began sinking 40 kilometers off the Argentine coastline.