Search Documents

By Mayumy Amparo Cabrera-Ramírez

Polymetallic nodules are a widespread resource in the Pacific Ocean, particularly in the areas of Clarion-Clipperton (Cronan, 2000). The most abundant mineral phases are forme d by iron and manganese oxides, with minor elements such as nickel, copper, cobalt, molybdenum and rare earths elements (Cronan, 1977; Cronan and Moorby, 1981; Iyer and Sharma, 1990; Mangini et al. 1990; Banerjee et al. 1991). In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), several authors mention that there are three main mineral species of manganese oxides, which have been recognized and which are associated with different processes of formation: todorokita (Mn2+, Ca, Mg) Mn3 4+ O7. H2), vernadite dMnO and birnessite enriched in Fe and (Na, Ca) 0.5 (Mn4+, Mn3+) 2O4. 1.5 H2O. In nodules of hydrothermal origin have been found todorokite, birnessite, vernadite, goethite and pyrolusite. Although there are many oxides and hydroxides of manganese and iron in amorphous and microcrystalline phases that make up the bulk of the nodule (Frondel et al. 1960; Cronan 1977; Dymond 1981; Calvert and Piper, 1984; Aplin and Cronan, 1985; Martin and Lallier, 1993; Achurra et al. 2009), identifying specific mineral phases is difficult due to the intergrowth of different phases and associated detrital material.

Sep 14, 2011

By Michael J. Cruickshank

A workshop to examine recovery systems for selected strategic and critical materials in the U.S. National Seabeds for the National Defense Stockpile in the 21st Century was held in Hawaii September 26-28, 1991, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Marine Mineral s Technology Center. The National Defense Stockpile of critical and strategic mineral commodities is presently in a deficit position of more than 7.5 billion dollars. Current domestic reserves of some commodities are limited or nonexistent. As defined by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, "Reserves are select resources . . . which at the time of classification, can be mined at a profit." Occurrences of these minerals have been discovered offshore within U.S. jurisdiction. If the technology could be developed to convert these resources into usable ore reserves, our dependence on foreign ores could be greatly reduced. Preliminary estimates indicate that a ten-year program of ore reserves definition, with appropriate technical developments to demonstrate a recovery system, could cost less than half the amount authorized for stockpile acquisition in FY 1989 alone.

Jan 1, 1991

In 1983, the GEMINO research project (Geothermal Metallogenesis Indian Ocean) was initiated in order to locate and evaluate sites of recent or fossil hydrothermal activity in the largely unexplored Indian Ocean. During GEMINO cruises 1 and 2 with R/V SONNE in 1983 and 1986, the Central Indian Ridge between 21°S and 24°S was the subject of detailed exploration, including SeaBeam and magnetic mapping, hydrocasts, sediment coring, TV-grab sampling, and camera/video tows. Although hydrothermal sulfide mineralization was not located, a hydrothermal component in the sediment composition, hydrothermally altered basalts, and maximum concentrations of 27.5 nmol/kg Mn and 45.6 nl/l CH4 were discovered (Plüger and Herzig 1986; Herzig and Plüger 1988a). Leg 1 of the GEMINO-3 cruise in 1987/88 identified a neovolcanic ridge in the rift valley of a 30 km segment at 22°55'S as a site of weak hydrothermal activity and photographed smectite-like precipitates on basalt talus and a chimney structure on top of a ridge-parallel fault scarp. Water temperature data and the distribution of Mn and CH4 were interpreted as indicative of diffuse, low-temperature hydrothermal activity (Herzig and Plüger 1988b).

Jan 1, 1989

By Robert G. Ditchburn

Msjflkcisokng During the past sixteen years, GNS Science has developed a number of radiometric methods for dating massive sulfide samples from submarine arc and back-arc volcanoes. This has improved our understanding of the formation of these hydrothermal systems, the frequency and duration of their activity, and assisted marine mineral exploration companies in assessing the economic potential of these deposits that can be rich in copper, zinc and gold (up to 90 ppm Au in some chimneys). The radiometric dating methods that we employ utilize radium isotopes that are extracted from the host rocks without their parent thorium isotopes, by ascending, hot, acidic hydrothermal fluids. When the hydrothermal fluid discharges into cold seawater, chemically similar barium and radium co-precipitate as barite, a common mineral contained within the black smoker chimneys that grow upwards from the seafloor. From the onset of mineralization, the isotopes 228Ra and 226Ra (with half-lives of 5.75 yrs and 1600 yrs, respectively) begin to decay, so that the 228Ra/226Ra and 226Ra/Ba values decrease with time. Thus, samples can be dated using these ratios once the initial values, i.e., the values at the onset of mineralization, have been established, ideally from active chimneys. 228Ra decays to 228Th (half-life 1.91 yrs) and from the 228Th/228Ra values, the growth-rate of individual chimneys can be estimated. The isotope 210Pb (half-life 22.3 yrs) is occasionally used for dating the mineralization, although several samples from a chimney are needed to determine an age from the 210Pb grown from 226Ra, using the isochron technique.

Sep 14, 2011

By Sven Petersen, Berit Lehrmann, Bramley J. Murton, Paul A. J. Lusty

"INTRODUCTIONToday’s metal mining focusses on land based ore deposits which only consider one third of the Earth’s surface. Through an increasing global demand of strategic metals used in the electronic and green industry (Zepf et al. 2014), ‘uneconomic’ sites of lower grade in more technical challenging grounds such as greater depth and/or more remote areas are developed by the mining industry often resulting in higher environmental impact. However, considering the steady growth of the Earth population a shortage of certain metals may occur (Krausmann et al. 2009). In 2010, the United Nations allowed commercial exploration for seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) in international waters with currently six contractor licenses being granted.Although the number of discovered vent sites has steadily increased since the first discovery of hydrothermal venting at the Galapagos Rift in 1977 (Corliss et al. 1979) with more than 600 sites being known today, their economic potential is poorly constrained. So far Nautilus Minerals Inc., a Canadian mining company, is the only company having conducted a NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Solwara site, located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea. Other studies using bulk geochemical data from 95 sites published in literature do exist (Hannington et al. 2011, Monecke et al. 2016) suggesting a global resource potential for today’s known SMS deposits of 600 million tons with a median grade of 3 wt.-% copper, 9 wt.-% zinc, 2 g/t gold and 100 g/t silver. However, the geochemical data being used originated mainly from easily recoverable, mainly non insitu surface grab-samples and are under current mineral resource classification schemes such as JORC code or NI 43-101 not even accepted for resource estimations. Furthermore surface samples such as high-temperature sulphide chimney and talus material are not representative for the entire deposits with information regards thickness and continuity of individual sulphide layers obtained through drilling being scarce. In addition, it remains unknown what geological processes occur once hydrothermal activity ceases and whether metal tenor becomes enriched, depleted or disappears."

Jan 1, 2017

By Carl L. Kaiser

This abstract discusses selected recent technology developments at the Deep Submergence Lab at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution aimed at fundamentally changing the nature and scope of AUV operations in the deep ocean. The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Sentry is described in its current configuration with discussion of emerging capabilities. Telepresence enhanced AUV operations are discussed including moving both operations and data processing personnel off the vessel. Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) aided AUV operations are discussed including recent experiments where an ASV provided both navigational aiding and a satellite based relay for acoustic communication of telemetery and mission redirection. New flexible communications strategies to perform intervention and manipulation tasks from an untethered vehicle are discussed. The abstract concludes with a brief discussion of industrial collaborations, including the newly launched Center for Marine Robotics.

Sep 14, 2011

By Derek V. Ellis

This article is a summary, with documentation and references, of recent global developments in identifying environmental issues affecting the marine mining industry. It is recognised that marine mining for various products occurs at various depths from shallow water (e.g. aggregate and diamond mining) potentially to great depths (e.g. metalliferous muds, and manganese crusts and nodules). Nevertheless there are environmental issues in common, even though the options for resolutions will vary greatly. The point of this review is to identify the issues, so that where site-specific resolutions are considered, it is possible to draw on experience with the issues elsewhere. Related mining issues, e.g. tailings effluent quality, orebody geochemistry, are mentioned where relevant but are not detailed in this article, although obviously they are a part of there solutions to the environmental issues. The environmental issues and their resolutions are important - on the basis of the ethic of not creating more impact than is inevitable, and the long-term financial and social costs at a mine-site of not getting the resolutions right.

Jan 1, 2000

By Usui Akira

Mode of occurrence and compositional variations of iron-manganese deposits from seamounts around the NW Pacific submarine island-arc area are described on the basis of on-site description during the Moana Wave Cruise MW9507 and other Japanese cruises, as well as geochemical and mineralogical analyses and dating on collected samples. Hydrogenetic and hydrothermal iron-manganese crusts occur at more than 80 sites out of 150 dredge hauls within a small area of 200x 200 km in the back arc region. The hydrogenetic crusts may have grown continuously at slow rates, but 2-3 times faster than those from the Central Pacific, associated with depletion of Co, Cu, and Ni contents. The site-maximum thickness of the hydrogenetic deposits trends to increase with the increase of distance from the active volcanic chain or the age of substrate volcanic rocks. Also the observed great local variations in thickness within single sites and on small scales may be resulted from post-depositional geological activity at the seamounts such as calcareous sedimentation, collapse of volcanic body and mass wasting,. On the other hand, the rapid hydrothermal manganese mineralization has occurred in place and time during arc volcanism and rifting and is still in progress at modern active areas. The ninety ICP/ES chemical plus XRD analysis show that these deposits are of distinct composition by origin or topographic provinces, but small-scale variation of the deposits of each origin and micro-scale depth variation are not clear.

Jan 1, 2000

By David S. Cronan

The traditional method of deep sea manganese nodule exploration is to conduct grid survey and sampling on successively finer scales until a suitable deposit has been delineated. Clearly this is both time consuming and ultimately self-defeating if large areas of the ocean floor are to be explored on a human timescale. A conceptual deductive approach would be preferable if one could be found, as it would aim to outline areas of potentially economic nodules on the basis of easily measurable oceanographic parameters. An attempt to achieve this aim in the Central Pacific is outlined below. Nodule Distribution in the Central Pacific Ocean Maps of ore grade nodules in the Central Pacific show that they are confined to two zones trending roughly east-west which are well separated in the eastern Pacific but which tend to converge towards 170-180ºW. They follow the isolines of intermediate biological productivity in the surface waters, strongly suggestive of a biological control on their distribution. Within these zones the nodules preferentially occupy basin areas. Thus they are found in the Penrhyn Basin, Tokelau Basin, Central Pacific Basin, Clarion Clipperton Zone and Tiki Basin. Nodules in all these areas have features in common and are thought to have obtained their distinctive composition by similar processes.

Jan 1, 2003

By James R. Hein

Barite and Fe-Mn-oxide deposits that occur along faults in the Southern California Borderland formed by low-temperature hydrothermal processes. The Borderland region consists of block-faulted continental crust within the broad transform boundary of the North American plate. The fault-bounded basins are anoxic and partially filled with hemipelagic and turbidite sediments. Barite was collected from four dredges and a submersible dive (DSV4-355) in the southern California Borderland, and was collected from two sea-cliff sites along the Palos Verdes Headlands near Los Angeles. Barite at these seven locations occurs along strike-slip and basin-margin faults from the shoreline to 1800 m water depth. Submersible observations showed a series of mounds up to 10-m high composed of friable, white barite associated with diffusely venting milky fluid; the mounds support large benthic colonies, including tube worms (Lonsdale, 1979). Barite samples recovered from dredges are brown, green, and white and range from porous, vuggy fragments to massive fragments cut by banded barite veins. Samples from two dredge sites contain fossil worm tubes 1-3 mm in diameter and >10 cm long. All the samples are nearly pure barite, with only minor to trace amounts of other minerals. Chemical analyses show 94-98 wt. % BaSO4, low total rare-earth element (REE) contents (<45 ppm), Sr contents from <2 to 10,000 ppm, and Hg contents up to 1 ppm. Chondrite and shale-normalized REE patterns show light REE enrichments and large positive Eu anomalies. These REE pattern characteristics are typical of marine hydrothermal fluids and minerals. Sulfur isotope ratios (d34SCTD) from +21.6 to +67.4? range from seawater values (+21?) to exceptionally high positive values. Strontium isotope ratios are lower than the modern seawater ratio as well as the seawater ratio that existed at the time of deposition of the host rocks.

Jan 1, 2002

By Kioshi Mishiro, Pratima Jauhari, Walter Williams

INTRODUCTION The UN-General Assembly adopted an Agreement on 28 July 1994 entitled ‘Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ((UNCLOS) of 10 December 1982’. The Agreement came into force on 16 November 1994, and consequently, the inauguration of the International Seabed Authority (ISA, or the Authority), located in Kingston, Jamaica. The Authority is the organization through which States Parties to the Convention (168, as of 25 July 2017) shall, in accordance with the regime for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area) established in Part XI and the Agreement, organize and control activities in the Area, particularly with a view to administering the mineral resources of the Area. The legal regime for the administration and development of the mineral resources of the Area as it now exists are available in Part XI of the Convention1 which contains the legal framework governing “activities in the Area” and in Annex III to the Convention which contains the “Basic Conditions of Prospecting, Exploration and Exploitation” with respect to the resources of the Area2. The 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the UNCLOS is the so- called ‘parallel system’; as elaborated in article 153 of the Convention. The essential elements of the ‘parallel system’ include assured access for States parties and their nationals to seabed mineral resources along with a system of site-banking, whereby ‘reserved areas’ are set aside for the conduct of activities by the Authority through the ‘Enterprise’ itself or in association with developing States or in joint venture with the contractor who provided the particular reserved site2.

Jan 1, 2018

By Stephan K. Schwank

In mid 1993, Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH, based in Germany got the order to develop a sampling tool capable of penetrating all different types of seabed sediments including cobbles and boulders and into bedrock. BHP and their partners Benguela Concessions Ltd., had been convinced by the Bauer Trench Cutter Technology and a large scale test in Germany that this system will be the right one to fulfill their expectations for sampling the diamond area off the coast of Namibia. The technique of the tool is based on Bauer&apos;s standard cutter technology, which is widely used for the installation of cut-off and diaphragm walls all around the world. The two counterrotating cutter wheels with 12.1 tom torque each cut an area of 3 x 1.2 m (up to 3 x 3 m are possible). The material mixed with seawater was then pumped to the separation plant on board the vessel Geomaster with a capacity of approximately 700 m3/h. Cutter wheels and mud pump were mounted on a special cutter frame and connected by wire ropes and hydraulic hoses to the vessel. An outer frame with four telescopic legs supported the cutter vertically on the uneven seabed and allowed a controlled penetration of the tool up to 6 m into the diamond bearing ground. The tool required a total power installed of approximately 800 kW. All hoses, the 6-inch mud hoses as well as the hydraulic hoses, were stored and compensated on drums on board suitable for a water depth of up to 200 m. Launch and recovery of the tool was effected through the moon pool of the vessel and the 25 m high, special designed drill tower. The 65? to sampling tool had been commissioned in early 1994 in Cape Town. After intensive testing the sampling programme of more than 4000 holes could be successfully completed by January 1995.

Jan 1, 1998

By Jelena Milinovic, Sofia Martins, Anna Lichtschlag, Sven Petersen, Fernando J. A. S. Barriga, Bramley Murton, Adeline Dutrieux

"The active TAG hydrothermal mound is one of the largest and better studied. Due to its size (one of the largest, known so far, in the Atlantic Ocean) and concentration of specific economic valuable elements, it might be considered for future exploitation due the increasing demand for raw materials. However, the discovery of several large inactive sulfide mounds, some partially buried under sediments may relieve this pressure. Exploration for such occurrences can, together with geophysical exploration tools, be accomplished by mineralogical and geochemical studies of those sediments.INTRODUCTION AND GEOLOGICAL SETTINGThis study reports the results from sediment samples collected during the Meteor M127 cruise on the TAG hydrothermal area in 2016. The Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 26°08’N) is located 2.4 km east of the main rift valley at depths of about 3650 m. The TAG hydrothermal field stands as an example of a massive sulfide deposit on a low-spreading ridge associated with an active detachment fault (Humphris et al., 2015).Associated with the TAG hydrothermal field are metalliferous sediments/deposits that can reach several meters in thickness (Metz et al., 1988). These sediments/deposits can be formed by hydrothermal plume fall out (buoyant and nonbuoyant), massive wasting of hydrothermal edifices (sulfide mounds and chimneys) and authigenic mineralization (Gurvich, 2006). By studying the grain size, mineralogy and geochemistry of the sediments it is possible to identify each type of sediments and find their proximal or distal distribution. The location of the gravity cores studied here is distributed along sediment ponds near inactive hydrothermal mounds [Three mounds area (B)], actively venting low-temperature mound [Shimmering mound (A) and Mir zone (D)] and an area of sediment accumulation [Central area (C)] (Rona et al., 1993) (see Figure 1)."

Jan 1, 2017

By Alexander Malahoff

The most exciting frontier in Ocean Technology is represented by a new class of Marine Bioproducts, the source of which lies in marine microorganisms. The microorganisms include microalgae, bacteria and archaea. These organisms represent very diverse, adaptive life forms and in their metabolic processes use carotenoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, ultraviolet blockers, as well as a wide range of enzymes that are pivotal in the production of new pharmaceuticals and nutraceutical products. These organisms cover a wide spectrum of ocean environments, from the shallow to the deep, from the normal to the extreme. The technological challenge is in the identification of candidate organisms, in the screening for valuable enzymes, and in the industrial production. A whole new range of collecting strategies involving submersibles, ROVs and in situ ocean floor instrumentation is emerging. New non-polluting industrial chemical processes involving the use of photobioreactors and extremophile bioreactors for breeding and monitoring these organisms in neo-farming technology is emerging. The commercial value of these candidate products is immense, as is the range of potential organisms. The dimension of this new industry is global. The Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MarBEC), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), has been established at the University of Hawaii. The vision of MarBEC is to develop a seamless research system stretching from undergraduate education to industry for the purposes of producing valuable marine bioproducts outside of the normal chemical factory production. MarBEC is uniquely and strategically placed in the Pacific to explore, find, and adapt highly bioactive marine micro-organisms found in the tropical ocean. We have watched the increasing need by the ever-

Jan 1, 2000

By Jorge MRS Relvas

Recent research both on active and fossil systems has demonstrated that shallow subseafloor replacement processes are not only viable depositional mechanisms for massive sulfide mineralization, but likely contributed as a major component of the mineralization occurring in large VHMS deposits and in many present-day seafloor hydrothermal systems. In the giant Neves Corvo deposit, as in many others VHMS deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, there is overwhelming evidence for silicate-sulfide replacement processes being largely responsible for the efficiency of the ore-forming systems and huge size of the deposits. Textural evidences at all scales, coupled with a well-constrained mass-balance geochemical analysis, indicate that extensive replacement in the lavadominated volcanic rocks of the footwall sequence, and disseminated replacement mineralization in the volcaniclastic and/or sedimentary units were major mechanisms of ore formation in the Neves Corvo deposit. Shallow metal deposition prior to fluid discharge on the seafloor is likely to play a major role in seafloor massive sulfide mineralization. This premise should be envisaged as critical in evaluating the economic potential of seafloor resources, and should certainly be part of the equation when plans for seafloor mineral exploration missions are drawn.

Sep 14, 2011

By Julian Malnic

The emerging marine minerals exploration and mining industry is currently focused mainly on the technical elements for its success such as developing exploration and mining technologies. However, in one sense, the technical challenges are quite soluble whereas those arising in the fields of the environment and public opinion could present this new generation of miners with problems that are far more difficult to overcome. One need only look at the issues currently faced by mining projects on land to see how powerful the new forces of so-called ?civil society? are in stopping mineral developments in many countries. From the geographic viewpoint, there are many countries but there is just one ocean, so the impacts experienced by any one operation are likely to have pervasive repercussions throughout the industry. A well-oiled NGO development protest lobby will see leverage in resisting this new industry and will seize on the single-ocean angle. The Australian Minerals Industry has established a voluntary Code for Environmental Management that provides an active and valuable model for satisfying the ?court of public opinion? and in delivering economic results to industry that are in current jargon, sustainable. An explanation of the Code for Environmental Management, and the reasons behind 44 companies representing more than 300 operations and 85% of Australia?s sizeable mineral production being signatory to it will be given. Participants see it as a means to future shareholder wealth.

Jan 1, 2000

By Arturo Carranza Edwards

Sedimento II oceanographic cruise, on board of the B/O El Puma, shows a new high anomaly or phosphate associated with shelf sediments from the south Mexican Pacific. Recently, were found two anomalies in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, that are located to the east of this new anomaly, that is related to muddy sands and rock fragment debris. The latter shows values of 17% P205. The phosphate occurrence is probably associated with red tides locations that usually are found in sites where sediments are phosphates enriched. These findings suggest that south Mexican Pacific is of potential interest for P205, in waters with high nutrients values. The possibility of a more regional occurrence of phosphate, from California to Chile is suggested.

Jan 1, 2000

By Tetsuo Yamazaki

Manganese nodules on deep ocean floors have continuously received attention as potential sources for strategic metals such as Co, Ni, Cu, and Mn, due to their vast distribution and relatively higher metal concentrations (Mero, 1965; Cronan, 1980). Several registered Pioneer Investors have already identified promising sites in deep-sea regions for manganese nodule mining (ISA, 1998), and appropriate mining technologies have been developed during the last thirty years by the international consortium and several nations (Welling, 1981; Kaufman et al., 1985; Bath, 1989; Charles et al., 1990; Yang and Wang, 1997; Yamada and Yamazaki, 1998; Hong and Kim, 1999; Muthunayagam and Das, 1999). The mining feasibility for manganese nodules, including an economic evaluation, has been examined in detail by some researchers (Andrews et al., 1983; Hillman and Gosling, 1985; Charles et al., 1990; Soreide et al., 2001).

Jan 1, 2011

By James M. Cairns

Deep Sea Minerals Inc. (DSM) is a high technology marine minerals and biotechnology corporation. The corporation is currently engaged in a worldwide leasing program to acquire exclusive rights in specific Economic Exclusive Zones (EEZ?s) that DSM?s marine geologists have identified as prospective targets for seabed mines of copper, zinc, gold, and silver. In the last two years the corporation has assembled an international team, including some of the world?s leading marine research scientists and engineers, and has created strategic partnerships and alliances with world-class engineering and mining groups. Development of a marine mining venture has key requirements in common with most other mining ventures. These include financing, deposit location, property acquisition, deposit delineation, and permitting, as well as the collection, transportation, processing and marketing of the ore itself. DSM has made progress on all of these fronts, which is outlined in a general way in this presentation. Financing for the venture is clearly the first big hurdle to overcome. Deep seabed mining involves new technologies and significant up-front capital investment. Less than fifteen years ago, such financing would probably have impossible to achieve, given classical business models. However, with the spectacular success of high technology ventures in the areas of electronics, software, and biotechnology, new business models and investment strategies have evolved which put relatively high evaluations on intellectual property and exhibit relatively high confidence in new ways of doing things. DSM is taking full advantage of these changes in venture capital markets in its financial planning.

Jan 1, 2000

By Sebastian Ernst Volkmann, Felix Lehnen

"INTRODUCTIONWhile today’s mine planning of land-based ore deposits follows methods, which are well established, mining standards for the deep-sea have not established. Having gained a basic understanding of geological settings, there is still a lack of tools and methods to assess and plan future mining projects in the deep-sea. In the framework of the “Blue Mining” research project (2014-2018) technologies and methods for the exploration and exploitation of deep-sea minerals are developed that will bring deep-sea mining a step closer. The “Blue Mining” project receives funding from the European Commission (EC; Framework Programme 7; GA No. 604500) and addresses all aspects of the value chain in the field of deep-sea mining. The project philosophy is that deep-sea mining is planned and executed in the most responsible manner: Ensuring societal benefits and profitability at acceptable resource utilization and lowest possible environmental footprint (Volkmann 2014).Inspired by the high-tech farming industry, a concept to mine seafloor manganese nodules (SMnN) was developed. Mining is considered to be similar to the potato harvest on land (Figure 1), which involves mining a field partitioned into long, narrow strips (Volkmann and Lehnen 2017). The proposed mining system composes of one mining support vessel (MSV), one or two self-propelled, crawler-type seafloor mining tools SMT(s) and different types of underwater vehicles. The MSV follows the mining route of the SMT(s), picking up the about potato-sized nodules from the seafloor. The ore is pre-processed in situ and is lifted on board of the MSV, where the ore is dewatered and loaded onto bulk carriers for transport to the purchaser. Processing and refining of ore is not subject of “Blue Mining” research."

Jan 1, 2017