The Saya de Malha Bank is the site of an attempt to create an artificial island by Prof. Wolf Hilbertz (1938-2007) and Dr. Thomas J. Goreau. Hilbertz created seacrete or biorock by utilizing electricity to accrete the minerals in sea water onto a metal structure. The artificial coral thus far created has high enough tensile strength to be used as building material. With others, Hilbertz and Goreau made two expeditions to the bank in 1997 and 2002. They attempted to create or grow an island around a steel structure that has been anchored to the North Bank sea floor at a depth of . Some sources say that the island would have been named "Autopia" or "Autopia Saya", and declared a micronation.