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By Steinar L. Ellefmo, Thomas Kuhn

The deep-sea ocean floor offers a great potential for mineral resources. The evaluation of these resources is both time consuming and costly and require as any resource evaluation data; geodata. The collection of hard data, physical samples, is of course preferred because the associated uncertainty is low. However, the collection of soft data or image derived data can offer a valuable supplement. In this paper image derived nodule uncertain abundance data from an area in the Pacific is utilized. Implementing these uncertain data improves the estimation when the quality of the estimation is measured using the classification indicators like the kriging standard deviation, the relative prediction error, the slope of regression and the weight of the mean. It is concluded that uncertain data is better than no data. INTRODUCTION The deep-sea offers vast mineral resources (Cathles (2011), Hannington et al. (2011), Hannington (2013), Singer (2014)). A mineral resource can according to increasing geological confidence be classified as an inferred, an indicated or a measured resource. The classification is performed by a competent- or qualified person and is dependent on the amount, quality and characteristic of available geodata. The competent person must have at least five years of experience relevant to both the style of mineralisation, the type of deposit and the performed task. Typical examples of a “task” is for example resource estimation and classification or planning- and execution of exploration activities and presentations of the results. The competent person must also be a member or a fellow of a professional organisation and thereby be bound by reporting code (-s) that defines minimum standards, recommendations and guidelines for public reporting.

Jan 1, 2018

Welina mai to the 40th Underwater Mining Institute, UMI 2011 - Marine Minerals: Recent Innovations in Technology. Since the first conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1970, the UMI Founder Professor Robby Moore always insisted on actively seeking the participation of industry, academia, and government. History has proven the wisdom of this approach, which is probably the key to its survival for so many years. The UMI is very much influenced by the cyclical pressures of the minerals commodity markets. When minerals demand and prices are rising rapidly, industrial participation in the Institute dominates the agenda, and participants share optimistic and aggressive views of the commercial prospects of the day. When metals prices are falling and world economies lethargic, academic experts continue to provide guidance and breakthroughs in the concepts and practices of exploration, technology, and environmental protection. Throughout the ups and downs, government participants provide a stabilizing force with conservative and environmentally sensitive policy statements, patient development efforts with long-term objectives, authoritative resource assessments and, sometimes, much needed regulatory clarity.

Jan 1, 2011

By Jiahua Pan, Yanxiong Mei, Shuqin Liu, Rongfu Pei

Growth characteristics of Co-rich crusts from the Western Pacific have been approached. The thick crust shows 3 structural layers: compact upper layer, porous middle layer, and compact lower layer. The middle and lower layers have obviously different microscopic structure, color, and luster. Preliminary study of Calcareous nanofossils in one crust shows that the crust began to grow since Paleogene. The porous middle layer was formed from late Miocene to late Pliocene (Ca. 0.5 ~ 11.9Ma) and the compact lower layer was formed from late Paleocene to late Oligocene (Ca. 56.3 ~ 23.2Ma). The sedimentary hiatus of a 14.26Ma was observed between the middle and lower layers. The boundary between them to be Oligocene/Miocene (O/M) shows an important message on growth age.

By Charles L. Morgan

In June 1996, the United Nations International Seabed Authority opened shop in Kingston, Jamaica as an autonomous international organization charged with the administration of seabed mineral developments in all areas beyond national jurisdictions. The Authority is a consequence of the 16 November, 1994 entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of UNCLOS. The total seabed area included within the Authority?s purview has yet to be assessed accurately, but clearly constitutes the largest single jurisdiction on the planet. The Authority is governed by legislative bodies called the Assembly and the Council and an administration called the Secretariat. The Assembly includes representatives of the 132 member states which are currently parties both to UNCLOS and to the 1994 Agreement. These member states directly fund the operations of the Secretariat. They include most of the world?s developed nations, island nations, and others among the 188 independent countries which are members of the United Nations. Notably absent are the United States and Canada, which are the only developed coastal states not represented. The Council is a 36-member subset of the Assembly representatives selected through a somewhat involved process designed to achieve a balanced representation of the specific interests of the members. Ultimate responsibility for the Authority?s actions resides in the Assembly, but most initiatives originate in the Council. Also included in the Authority are two subsidiary advisory bodies, the Finance Committee, which reviews the Secretariat?s budget, and the Legal and Technical Commission, which evaluates claims and drafts technical regulations. The Secretariat itself includes a staff of about 30, including 15 highly qualified and competent attorneys, accountants, engineers, and scientists. Details describing the composition and activities of these bodies can be found at the Authority?s website (http://www.isa.org.jm).

Jan 1, 2000

By James R. Hein

Rodriguez Seamount, located 150 km off the central California coast at the base of the continental slope, was studied using the ROV Tiburon aboard MBARI?s R/V Western Flyer, October 13-16, 2003. Fe-Mn crust and rock samples were collected along the SW flank of the seamount at water depths from 700 to 2100 m; bottom-water dissolved oxygen content (O2) and temperature were determined at each sample site. Fifty-three samples of bulk crusts, crust layers, and surface scrapes (~0.5 mm) were analyzed for 59 elements. Data allow for the correlation of crust compositions with precisely known water depths and seawater O2 measured at the actual site of sample collection. This is the first detailed study of Fe-Mn crust compositions in a region of strong continental-margin upwelling. Compared to open-ocean seamount Fe-Mn crusts, Rodriguez crusts have significantly higher (2-6 fold) mean concentrations of Fe (26.9%), Al (1.65%), Si (13.0%), Cr (82 ppm), Th (64 ppm), and Ag (1.7 ppm); and significantly lower (2-8 fold) mean concentrations of Ca, P, Bi, Co, Cu, Ni, Tl, and especially Te (8.2 times lower). All but one Fe/Mn ratio are >1 compared to <1 ratios for open-ocean crusts. O2 contents (0.35-2.03 ml/L) are nearly perfectly corrected with water depth and elements correlated with one are correlated with the other. The Fe-Mn surface scrapes represent 60-450 ka (mean 150 ka) of growth, whereas the dissolved oxygen contents of seawater represent an instant in time. Assuming that the entire sample set was affected uniformly by oceanographic changes, we suggest that correlation of elements with O2 may reflect oceanographic processes. O2 has a negative correlation with P, V, As, Fe, U, Be, Pb, Cr, Mg, Y, Bi, Te, and REEs (except Ce) and a positive correlation with aluminosilicate-hosted elements (Al, K, Rb, Cs). This later relationship is related solely to water depth, indicating that detritus shed down the seamount slopes accumulates in greater abundances in deeper-water crusts. Si/Al ratios indicate that the detritus includes a large component of biosilica produced by upwelling-mediated high productivity. These observations are supported by positive correlations of aluminosilicate-hosted elements with crust growth rates (range 1.2-13.0 mm/Myr). In contrast, other elements (Sr, Co, Mn, Mg, Te, As, Mo, V, W, U, Ti, Ni, REEs, etc.) are negatively correlated with growth rates. Growth rate has a weak positive correlation with O2. These compositional characteristics indicate that even though low-O2 seawater acts as a reservoir for Mn and associated elements and produces slow growth rates, which would allow for the concentration of elements and surface oxidation processes to occur, the high rate of input of detritus and high bioproductivity ameliorate the strong concentration of most metals. This dilution is significantly enhanced by the doubling of FeOOH in the crusts--the main cause of the generally high growth rates compared to open-ocean crusts. The high growth rates limit the oxidation of Co, Tl, and especially Te on the crust surface, which is reflected by their relatively low concentrations. Within the range of oxygen contents measured, O2 has less of an influence on crust chemistry than does the availability and incorporation of FeOOH and detritus.

Jan 1, 2004

By Dwight D. Trueblood

The Benthic Impact Experiment (BIE) is designed to address the effects of sediment redeposition prior to the commencement of commercial mining. The experiment is being conducted in collaboration with Russian scientists from the Yuzhmorgeologiya Association aboard the R/V YUZHMORGEOLOGIYA. Sediment resuspension and subsequent redeposition during manganese-nodule mining is predicted to be one of the primary impacts on benthic communities living on the abyssal seafloor. The redeposition thicknesses that will cause significant faunal mortality in the deep sea are unknown. Sediment redeposition could adversely affect abyssal benthic communities through entombment, or through starvation caused by food dilution and obstructed feeding. This spring NOAA conducted the main portion of the BIE experiment, blanketing the experimental area with varying thicknesses of sediment using the Deep Sea Sediment Resuspension System (DSSRS). The DSSRS was conceived by NOAA scientists, designed and built by Williamson and Associates, and is the critical piece of equipment used to generate the controlled sediment redeposition environment on the 4800-m deep abyssal plane. The DSSRS consists of an 1800-kg sled, 4.8 m long, 2.4 m wide, and 2.2 m high. The sled was towed and powered using an 8,000-m, 26-mm single conductor cable having a 3,000 VAC capacity. As the sled was towed across the bottom, mud was ingested through two rear-facing, 45-cm wide intakes using two 7.6-horsepower pumps, and discharged 10 to 20 m above the bottom through two 20-cm diameter riser hoses. Each pump was instrumented with optical backscatter sensors providing real-time information about the discharge concentration.

Jan 1, 1992

By Carsten Rühlemann, David Friedmann, Bernd Friedrich, Thomas Kuhn

"This paper explores the option of direct reduction smelting of the nodules from the German license area in the equatorial NE Pacific in a submerged arc furnace (SAF). An optimized slag design is proposed to separate the larger Mn-bearing stream from the valuable metals (i.e. Ni, Cu, Co, Mo). The slag optimization allows a maximum of Mn to be retained in the manganese-silicate slag on the one hand and a maximized metal recovery in a FeNiCuCo alloy on the other. This way, the goal is to make use of the complete nodules (“zero-waste”) instead of extracting only the metals Ni, Cu, and Co, which make up about 3 wt%. The process closely relates to the “Inco Process” by the Ocean Management Inc. (OMI) of the late 1970s, which was a consortium of INCO (International Nickel Company, CAN; today Vale Canada), Preussag AG & Metallgesellschaft AG (GER), DOMCO (JPN), and Sedco (USA). However, the manganese containing slag is investigated in more detail to recover FeMn, FeMnSi and/or SiMn. To optimize the process modern tools such as thermo-chemical modeling in FactSage™ have been used. [1,2]Polymetallic deep-sea manganese nodules may offer a decreased dependency of raw material imports for Germany and the EU. Currently, four European countries (United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, and France and an Eastern European consortium (InterOcean Metal)) hold exploration licences for these nodules in international waters in the equatorial NE-Pacific. The license areas each cover 75 000 km2 of the seafloor and are located in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) south east off Hawaii at water-depths between 4000 and 6000 m. The nodules may be used as a resource for industrially important metals such as Cu, Ni, Mn as well as for technology metals like Co, Mo, V and Zn. The average chemical composition of nodules from the German license area is presented in Table 1. [3,4]"

Jan 1, 2017

By Andrea Koschinsky, Sophie Paul

"INTRODUCTIONOnce again deep-sea mining has been receiving a lot of attention in recent years. Industrial and political advancements also call for environmental baseline studies and analyses to aid the development of standards and monitoring protocols. As part of the EU research project “JPI Oceans: Ecological Aspects of Deep-Sea Mining”, the RV Sonne cruise SO242 to the Peru Basin revisited the DISCOL area that had been artificially disturbed in 1989. This offered the unique opportunity to study a deep-sea site 26 years after a disturbance similar to manganese nodule mining had been carried out (Figure 1). A comparison of a variety of undisturbed and disturbed sites shed light on the re-establishment of a geochemical equilibrium and a range of baseline values. This information can help to inform standard development for monitoring and mining purposes.Heavy metal data and its applicationResearch findingsDuring the cruise, disturbed and undisturbed surface sediment was sampled. The pore water analyses show that the 26 years old disturbance is not visible in the metal profiles and that the pore water reaches equilibrium through diffusive fluxes relatively quickly. The sediment, however, shows some differences between disturbed and undisturbed sites in the upper 20 cm, even after 26 years. Lower concentrations in the usually manganese-oxide rich top layer, variations and “unnatural” peaks in the manganese profiles, for example, suggest removal or mixing of the top layer (Figure 2)."

Jan 1, 2017

By Peter M. Herzig

In 1994 and 1998 the German research vessel R/V Sonne undertook detailed mapping and sampling of the largely uncharted offshore areas of the Tabar-Lihir-Tanga-Feni island chain in the New Ireland Basin of Papua New Guinea. The New Ireland Basin occupies a fore-arc position with respect to the formerly active Manus-Kilinailau arc-trench system and hosts a series of Pliocene to Recent alkaline volcanoes which are built on rifted Miocene sedimentary basement. Several of the volcanoes possess high-level porphyry stocks and active geothermal systems, including gold-depositing hot springs and the giant (40 million ounces) Ladolam gold deposit on the island of Lihir. On the southern flank of Lihir island, a group of three volcanic cones were discovered at water depths from 1.000-1.500 m. The volcanoes are located in a narrow zone of recent seismic activity and elevated heat flow (up to 100 mW/m2). The recovered volcanic rocks consist of fresh alkali-olivine basalts, clinopyroxene-rich basalts (ankaramites), porphyritic phlogopite basalts, and trachybasalts. Unusual gold-rich hydrothermal precipitates were recovered from the summit of the 600 m high Conical Seamount located only about 10 km south of Lihir Island. 1200 kg of sampled material systematically collected with a TV-guided grab from the top plateau (150 x 200 m, 1.050 m water depth) are intensely mineralized with pyrite, marcasite, minor sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, tennantite/tetrahedrite, and orpiment/realgar together with traces of anglesite, cerrusite, and amorphous silica in stockwork-like veins. Bulk samples of the vein mineralization consist mainly of clays, silica, and disseminated sulfides, and have an unusual high gold content ranging from 1.2-44.0 ppm Au. In some of these samples, grains of native gold (about 1 micron in diameter) were identified by SEM in pyrite and sphalerite. The gold-rich material also contains high concentrations of silver (up to 1000 ppm) and typical epithermal elements such as As (2.6 wt.%), Sb (0.2 wt.%), and Hg (34 ppm). Similar to epithermal deposits on land, which usually have only low base metal contents, the samples from Conical Seamount contain only minor amounts of Zn (max. 4.5 wt.%), Cu (2.0 wt.%), and Pb (2.0 wt.%). Many of the samples recovered from Conical Seamount are virtually identical to the gold ore at Lihir.

Jan 1, 1998

By Samantha Smith

Nautilus Minerals (Nautilus) is following the lead of the petroleum industry as it strives to tap vast offshore resources. Planning is well underway for the Solwara 1 Project in the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea (PNG) to recover high-grade seafloor massive sulphide deposits in 1600 m water depth. The deposit contains an average copper grade >10 times higher than a typical land-based porphyry copper mine. The high grades combined with a relatively small amount of overburden ensure the Solwara 1 Project will have a significantly smaller physical footprint than its land-based counterparts. Offshore minerals production also has the advantage of minimal social disturbance. Nautilus is dedicated to setting a high environmental and social responsibility standard. Nautilus recognises the importance of transparent and inclusive stakeholder engagement and has taken a proactive approach to involve as many key stakeholders as possible. One of the first steps in the permitting process in PNG is the preparation of the Environmental Inception Report, which describes the project, its envisaged impacts and the proposed studies for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Local (PNG-based) and international environmental scientists, anthropologists, NGOs and other experts were involved in the definition of studies conducted for the Solwara 1 EIA and a team of world-leading experts was involved with carrying out the studies, culminating in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). To ensure transparency, collaborating researchers are free to publish their findings. Following its submission, the EIS was made available for public review and public hearings were held at several locations. The EIS has also undergone a rigorous independent review by PNG government-engaged consultants. Outside the permitting process, Nautilus works alongside government officials to carry out ongoing community consultations. Information dissemination and feedback acquisition has also occurred through the Nautilus website and attendance at a number of international conferences, workshops, and meetings. This paper will outline the leading edge approach Nautilus has taken in completing the environmental impact statement for the world?s first deep seafloor copper-gold mine. In addition, this paper will review the permitting process and the government and stakeholder engagement undertaken as part of Nautilus? desire to ?do it right? in this exciting new industry.

Jan 1, 2010

By Sofia Martins, Anna Lichtschlag, Sven Petersen, Fernando Barriga, Bramley Murton, Adeline Dutrieux

"Sediments in the vicinity of the hydrothermal seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) mounds are characterized by high concentration of metallic particles. They result from a long process of weathering of the primary mineral deposits and have been accumulated in depressions by mass wasting and hydrothermal plume fall-out. We present here the first results obtained on pore waters analyses of such sediments in distinct geological seafloor environments (in low-temperature hydrothermally active zones, on extinct hydrothermal mounds and in a remote depositional channel). Vertical concentration profiles suggest that the pore fluid composition is affected more by seawater circulation compared with hydrothermal fluid flow in all environments. The composition of pore fluids is affected by diagenesis and redox processes in the distal depositional channel where Mn2+ is released at depth with Cu2+.IntroductionMarine hydrothermal fields, hosting seafloor massive sulphides, are potential resources for future deep-sea mining and might become economic reserves for the industries. They are widespread at mid-oceanic ridges, arcs and back-arc spreading centers (Hannington et al., 2011; German et al., 2016). Sediments in the vicinity of these fields can contain unusually high concentration of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu among other metal elements (Shearme et al., 1983). These hydrothermal, or metalliferous, sediments result from a combination of processes such as collapsing and weathering of chimney material, filling of the channels by turbidite-like mass wasting, in situ authigenic mineralization and hydrothermal plume fall-out (Goulding et al., 1998; German et al., 1990). The sediments contain important indicators reflecting the development of the hydrothermal systems. Because of their widespread distribution and metal content, they themselves can be considered potential mineral resources. Circulation of seawater through these deposits, however, often modifies the sediment composition by oxidizing the sulphides into oxyhydroxides and clays causing mobilization of the metals. To address the importance of alteration and diagenesis of these hydrothermal sediments, including the result of seawater circulation, we investigated the post-depositional processes occurring in the hydrothermal sediments at the TAG Hydrothermal Field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 26°N), focusing on the mobility of metallic cations in a number of different seafloor environments."

Jan 1, 2017

By Leonhard Weixler

The Bauer company was founded in 1790 by coppersmith Sebastian Bauer in Schrobenhausen, a small town north-west of Munich. The original workshop business carried out works including repairs to church roofs and brew kettles. Later the company expanded its operations to encompass water pipe installation, which it continued through to the 1980s. In addition to installing water pipes it then also began drilling wells, which were sometimes constructed using very simple methods, such as tripod frames (Figure 1).

Jan 1, 2011

By P. E. Halbach

On June 26, 1988, the Jade Hydrothermal Field was discovered in the Okinawa Trough by the German RV Sonne. This research cruise has taken place within the scope of a German-Japanese cooperative project. The Okinawa Trough, located between the Ryukyu Island Chain and the east coast of China, is an active backarc-basin formed by extension within the continental lithosphere. The Ryukyu arc consists of a nonvolcanic outer arc, forming the main island chain and representing compressive highs of the Asian continental margin, and an inner arc with present-day volcanism in its northern part (Sibuet et al. 1988). The valleys and ridges of the trough are cut across by transverse faults, giving rise to younger volcanic intrusions. The Jade Hydrothermal Field was detected in a caldera-like structure. It is. located at about 27°15,0&apos;N and 127°04,5&apos;E with a maxi- mum water depth of about 1650 m. Data of heat flow measurements show a high anomaly in the cauldron basin with values ranging from around 100 to 800 mw/m2 (Halbach et al. 1989). The hydrothermal vent area was discovered in the northern part of the inside northeast slope of the cauldron in a water depth between about 1300 and 1500 m. We identified different varieties of hydrothermal

Jan 1, 1989

By Manfred Krutein

Ocean mining has a number of problems which are critical to its development: ? Political hurdles on national and international stages ? The worldwide economic situation, with the possibliity of a recession ? Financial difficulties in funding further work ? Technical problems for the development of ocean mining and transport subsystems ? Demands for technology transfer This paper touches the last two points and provides some thoughts for discussion and creative objectification. The many technical problems of ocean mining will be identified and some proposed solutions will be investigated relative to the state-of-the-art technology of ocean mining and nodule transport. An outlook into the future attempts identification of the steps necessary to eventually develop components for workable systems that are not only technically but also economically feasible.

Jan 1, 1978

By Raymond A. Binns

The Eastern Manus Basin (EMB) contains three major active hydrothermal zones and a number of smaller occurrences of hydrothermal deposits, and can be considered as a regional-scale modern analogue for volcanic-hosted mineral fields on land. Unlike the central Manus Basin, a back-arc spreading zone with some MORB-like basalt-hosted massive sulfide deposits, the EMB is a pull-apart rift zone between two transform faults, where a basement of Eocene-Oligocene arc crust is being thinned by extension, with rapid sedimentation on the tilted fault blocks. Present-day submarine igneous activity in the EMB, with which hydrothermal activity is associated, has arc geochemical affinities and is related to subduction of the Solomon Sea Plate at the New Britain Trench. Overall, hydrothermal deposits in EMB are found with lavas ranging from picritic basalt to rhyodacite in composition, although the two major occurrences of massive sulfide are hosted by the more siliceous dacite and rhyodacite variants. Some volcanic edifices are central eruptions, mostly of porphyritic lavas or domes, while others are elongate ridges formed by fissure eruption in which the typically aphyric lavas were very fluid. Evidence for shallow-level fractional crystallisation controls of lava chemistry implies presence of subjacent differentiated intrusions or former magma chambers. Seismic tremor at one site during the nearby 1994 Rabaul eruption suggests magma movement in the chamber.

Jan 1, 1998

By Gregory J. Kurras

In 1995 the Marine Minerals Technology Center (MMTC) of the University of Hawaii conducted a sidescan sonar survey and sampling expedition of the submarine geology and hydrothermal systems surrounding the active volcano White Island. The island is located in the Bay of Plenty, within the geothermally active Taupo Volcanic Zone off-shore of the North Island of New Zealand, and is the site of numerous shallow-water hydrothermal systems. The survey system, an EdgeTech DF1000 sonar, was a dual frequency 100 kHz & 500 kHz sonar capable of imaging the seafloor at better than 1 m resolution and possibly detecting gas bubbles within the water column. Sidescan imagery clearly shows sand channels, debris slumps, submarine landslides, and volcanic ridges all around the island to roughly 800 meters offshore. However, analyses of the both raw and processed acoustic data indicate that the sonar was not able to image any of the shallow-water hydrothermal gas seeps known to exist around the island. Vents were located using a commercial fish finder and knowledge from local tour guides and divers. Eleven gas samples from three different sites were collected by divers for analysis of chemical and isotopic composition. Rock samples were collected from thirteen underwater outcrops for correlation with existing data on subarial island flows sampled by previous investigators. Thin sections and XRF analysis were done for each rock to determine mineral assemblages along with major and trace elements, which were used to tie submarine samples to specific subarial stratigraphic layers.

Jan 1, 2011

By Peter A. Rona

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the central North Atlantic and the Gorda Ridge within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off northern California and southern Oregon are yielding new discoveries of seafloor hydrothermal mineralization. The TAG hydrothermal field in the rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 26 degree N, 45 degree W has been a site of international collaborative research since the discovery there of extensive manganese deposits associated with low temperature hydrothermal activity in 1973 as part of the TAG (Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse Project). The first high-temperature hydrothermal activity, massive sulfide deposits and vent biota discovered in the Atlantic were found at the TAG hydrothermal field in 1985. Collaborative dive series with DSV ALVIN in 1990 and in 1991 with the two Russian MIR submersibles in the TAG field have found and sampled large inactive sulfide mounds in addition to the previously known active sulfide mound. The active sulfide mound on the floor of the rift valley is about 250 m in diameter and 40 m high with a concentric zonation of mineral types and flow regimes decreasing in temperature from 365 degree C black smokers at the center to white smokers and diffuse flow toward the margins. The recent dive series in coordination deep-towed instrument surveys have delineated a zone extending about 5 km along the lower east wall of the rift valley of inactive sulfide mounds up to a kilometer in diameter. MIR Mound in this zone consists of a central sulfide zone about 400 m in diameter and 50 m high surrounded by a halo of low-temperature deposits to 200 m wide. Inactive sulfide chimneys contain the first primary, free gold grains found at a hydrothermal site on a mid-ocean ridge (P.A. Rona, Y.A. Bogdanov, E.G. Gurvich, N.A. Rimski-Korsakov, A.M. Sagalevitch and M. D. Hannington, 199 1 EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 72:470-471 and Journal of Geophysical Research, submitted).

Jan 1, 1992

By Elisabetta Tedeschi, Razieh Nejati Fard

Deep-sea mining is in the future perspective of mining industry and it is currently in the technological development phase. The focus of this study is on the electrical power system that provides sufficient energy for the mining equipment at the seafloor, excavating Seafloor Massive Sulfide (SMS) deposits. SMS deposits usually exist at water depths between 1500 m and 4000 m. Despite the similarities of SMS deposits excavation to the open-pit terrestrial mines, more energy is required to drill and crush the ores in the hyperbaric conditions [1], which can be done whether by static trench cutters [1] or by mobile mining crawlers [2]. In addition, the ores vertical transportation by subsea pumps requires several MW electrical power that can be supplied by all-electric subsea motors or hydraulically from water injection motors located on the surface. The power requirements can be fulfilled by an offshore or subsea power network. As the SMS mines are usually in remote locations, the straightforward solution will be an isolated offshore grid mounted on a vessel or platform similar to the most of offshore Oil & Gas projects. These power systems resemble the onshore microgrids for industrial purposes operating in island mode. However, in contrast with the onshore power networks, there are space and weight limitations in offshore infrastructures, which impose the design compactness to be a priority. In addition, having a very high reliability is necessary in the design approach of the offshore projects due to the extraordinary high expenses corresponding to repair and maintenance. The other design criterion is to improve the power system efficiency in order to reduce the size of the power equipment cooling apparatus, operational costs and CO2 emissions produced by diesel/LNG onboard generators. There are a few studies considering power system distribution for seafloor mining industry. Among them, [3] has investigated the AC and DC alternatives for SMS mining in 2400 m water depth by considering Solwara 1 project scenario introduced by Nautilus Minerals Inc. [2]. In this study, a power system design tool will be presented taking into account various water depth, power consumption levels, different distribution configurations (AC and DC) and the aforementioned design criteria.

Jan 1, 2018

By Peter A. Rona

The recent discovery of the first black smoker-type hydrothermal venting and massive sulfide mineral deposits at a site in the rift valley of the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge near latitude 26°N, longitude 45°W (Rona et al., 1986, Nature, 321: 33-37), demonstrates that a complete series of hydrothermal mineral deposit types exists at slow-spreading oceanic ridges (half-rate = 2 cm/y), similar to the series previously known at faster-spreading oceanic ridges (half-rate > 2 cm/y). The largest hydrothermal mineral deposit known at a seafloor spreading center is a stratiform massive sulfide body with bulk dry weight of about 100 x 106 metric tons in the Atlantis II Deep at the slow-spreading axis of the Red Sea. This observation invalidates the concept that size of a hydrothermal deposit is directly proportional to rate of seafloor spreading. Instead, the occurrence, grade and size of a hydrothermal deposit formed at a seafloor spreading center is controlled by anomalous chemical and physical conditions which may occur at extremely localized sites at the full range of spreading rates. The basic hydrothermal process involving subseafloor hydrothermal convection driven by magmatic heat sources appears to be similar at slow- and faster-spreading centers. However, differences exist in the periodicity of magmatic cycles that energize hydrothermal circulation (104 y at slow-spreading centers; 103 y at faster-spreading centers); in the distribution of hydrothermal sites along a spreading axis (estimated 100 km along slow-spreading centers; 10 km along faster-spreading centers); and in residence time

Jan 1, 1986

By Akira Usui

The details in small-scale variability of the geological occurrence and chemical composition of ferromanganese crusts are not yet well understood, although the northwestern Pacific seamounts are believed to be among the most promising areas for rare metal resources. Our belief is that geological observations and geochemical analyses are still insufficient for economic evaluation or for discussion of depositional processes and environments. Our team, composed of geologists, mineralogists, geochemists, physical engineers, and microbiologists has attempted to utilize an ROV for in-situ measurement and for sampling of undisturbed and uncontaminated ferromanganese crusts at three typical seamounts in the NW Pacific near the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone. The first ROV geological survey of ferromanganese crusts was successfully completed, and the ROV proved to be the most powerful, efficient and elegant method to date. The collected samples (more than total 1 ton of crusts, at more than 100 sites along a total of approximately 10 km of survey lines) were most suitable to analyze water-depth dependency and secular variation of their composition. The intact surfaces of crusts, collected without the usual abrasion caused by dredging, were also valuable for microbial study of Mn oxidizing bacteria. The ROV sampling devices, however, can be improved with further sophisticated drills or rock saw blades in the future.

Jan 1, 2011