Ocean-Floor Mining (1) - 1

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS
Course
Coordinator:
Dr. Nikhil Sirdesai
(Asst. Professor)
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
VISVESVARAYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NAGPUR - 440010
UNIT 3: DEEP-SEA MINING
HYDRAULICKIN
G Shallow-water
SURFACE MINING
DREDGIN
METHODS G
Placer Mining Deep-Sea
Mining
Mechanical
Extraction Methods Single-well
Solution BOREHOLE (FRASCH)
Mining EXTRACTION Multi-well
In-situ (Primary)
Aqueous Mining LEACHING
Methods METHODS Heap (Secondary)
EVAPORITE
METHODS

DEEP-SEA MINING
• Deep sea mining is a mineral retrieval process that takes place on

the ocean floor.
• Ocean mining sites are usually around large areas of poly-metallic

nodules or active and extinct hydrothermal vents at 1400 - 3700
meters below the ocean’s surface.
• The vents create globular or massive sulphide deposits, which contain

valuable metals such as silver, gold, copper, manganese, cobalt,
and zinc.
• The deposits are mined using either hydraulic pumps or bucket systems
that take ore to the surface to be processed.

UNIT 3: DEEP-SEA MINING POLYMETALLIC NODULES
NEED OF DEEP-SEA MINING
• Only one-third area of the globe is covered by land in which high-grade ore deposits are being exhausted at an alarming
rate.
• The deep sea (areas covered with >200 m depth of seawater) covers around 360 million km 2 of the Earth's surface and
represents 95% of the global biosphere in terms of inhabitable volume. Majority of the deep ocean floor is abyssal plain
at depths exceeding 3000 m with several topographical features such as submarine canyons, oceanic trenches and
ridges, hydrothermal vents and seamounts.
• Land covered by the ocean floor has a rich accumulation of several poly-metallic minerals that have a large demand in COBALT RICH CRUSTS
several crucial industries. For e.g., rare earth elements (REEs) have been found in the form of poly-metallic aggregates
along the ocean floor.
• The global land reserves and resources of cobalt are approx. 13 MT, while it is estimated there are 50 MT in the cobalt-
rich crusts of the Prime Crust Zone (Pacific) and 44 MT in the polymetallic nodules of the Clarion Clipperton Zone 1
(Pacific). MASSIVE SULPHIDES
• Another study estimates that the ocean floor contains gold having a market value of over USD 150 Trillion.
NEED OF DEEP-SEA MINING


STATUS OF DEEP-SEA MINING
• Deep-sea manganese nodules were discovered in the early 20 th century by the scientists on the HMS Challenger expedition.
However, the nodules were analyzed only for economically significant elements such as nickel, copper, cobalt and molybdenum.
Upon further tests in the early 1950’s, these nodules were considered as a potential commercial source of manganese.
• Although no commercial scale deep-sea mining has taken place, a range of mining operations are active in the shallow seabed.
Exploration contracts for deep-sea resources have been awarded to companies from countries including China, the United
Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France and Japan for three different mineral resources: seafloor massive sulfides (SMS),
ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic nodules
• Deep-sea mining is regulated by The International Seabed Authority (ISA), established under the UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea. As per the regulations, countries can only mine the deep-sea minerals that occur within the Exclusive Economic Zones
(EEZs), which as prescribed by the ISA is 370km from the continental shore of a country.
• Till date, much of the deep-sea environment is unexplored with respect to the distinctive biodiversity associated with the deep
seabed. Only a fraction of the deep sea has been scientifically studied and there are many valid concerns relating to seabed
mining, one of which is the disturbance to as-yet-undescribed biota.

OCEANIC MINERALS
• Deep-sea / Ocean floor mining is targeted towards the recovery of the following mineral resources:
 Seafloor massive sulfides (SMS)
 Ferromanganese & Cobalt Crusts
 Polymetallic Nodules
 Gas Hydrates

Seafloor Massive Sulphides
• Massive sulphides originate at hot vents in the ocean where sulphide-enriched water flows
out of the seabed.
• Nautilus Solwara 1 Project located at 1600 meters water depth in the Bismarck Sea, Papua
New Guinea, will be the world’s first deep-sea mining project. These vents are found at a
depth ranging from 1400-3700 m and are rich in copper, lead, gold, silver and zinc.
• Seawater penetrates several thousand meters into the bottom through fissures in the sea
floor. At these depths, the seawater is heated to temperatures of around 400 °C by volcanic
activity, where it dissolves metals and sulphur from the nearby volcanic rocks. The heated
water rises quickly and flows back into the sea.
• In the ocean, the plume of hot water cools again rapidly. This causes the dissolved metals
to bind into minute sulphide particles and sink as fine precipitants to the bottom. Several
hydrothermal vents have a tall chimney-like structure caused by the accumulation of
sulphides.

Ferromanganese & Cobalt Crusts
• Oxidized deposits of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust are found throughout the oceans on the flanks
and summits of seamounts, ridges and plateaus. Seamounts are similar to mountain ranges on the
continents.
• 6.35 million km2 (1.7 %) of the ocean floor, is covered by cobalt-rich crusts containing approximately 1
BT of cobalt. These deposits are located at a depth ranging from 800-2400m.
• Seamounts lead to the formation of large eddy currents at the bottom of the ocean. Nutrients or
other materials that enter from the sea surface or that are transported by ocean currents are trapped
by these eddies at the seamounts.
• An important precondition for the formation of cobalt crusts is that the rock and the growing crusts
remain free from sediments. This condition is met at the seamounts and other elevated areas.
• Crusts grow 1 to 5 mm per million years, which is even slower than nodules. Currents carry the fine
sediments away and keep the rocks and crusts exposed.

Polymetallic Nodules
• Manganese nodules, are rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and
manganese hydroxides around a core. They are primarily composed of manganese (27-30%), iron (6%),
cobalt (0.2-0.25%), copper (1-1.4%) & nickel (1.25-1.5%). They grow around a crystalline nucleus at a
rate of 1-3 mm per million years. These deposits are found at a depth of 4000-6000 m.
• Nodule formation requires a low rate of sedimentation or some process for removing sediment before it
accumulates. This enables concretions to grow before they are buried where they would be cut off from
the conditions that allow them to develop.
• Plankton concentrates trace elements such as copper and nickel. The organic matter that falls to the sea
bottom when these organisms die is a probable source of the metals incorporated into the nodules.
• Manganese in seawater comes mainly from hydrothermal vents (hot springs), where it is leached out of
the underlying basalt as the superheated fluids percolate upwards through the oceanic crust. Micro-
organisms also help in concretions

• Dissolved metal compounds in the sea water precipitate over time around a nucleus of some kind on the sea
floor. This growth process can take place in two ways:
 Hydrogenous process: Metal compounds sinking through the water are precipitated. This involves the
manganese oxide mineral vernadite, which forms naturally in water. Compounds of other metals join in
smaller amounts.
 Diagenetic growth: This process does not occur in the water column but within the sediments. Metal
compounds that are present in the water between the sediment particles, the pore water, are deposited.
Sea water penetrates into the sea floor and reacts with the sediments to become enriched with metal
compounds. As it rises out of the sediment, the metal compounds are deposited around the nodule growth
core. This involves the manganese oxides todorokite and birnessite.
• Most nodules grow both hydrogenously and diagenetically, whereby the relative influence of each process
varies in different marine regions.

• Hydrogenous nodules grow up to 10 millimeters per million years, while diagenetic nodules grow between
10 and 100 millimeters. Therefore, it is necessary that the environmental conditions remain stable in such
growth areas over the required time-scale. Other factors essential for the formation of manganese
nodules are:
 Low sedimentation rates of suspended material: High rate will result in covering of the nodules
 Constant flow of Antarctic bottom water: This water removes the fine sediment particles that would
otherwise bury the nodules over time. The coarser particles, such as the shells of small marine
organisms and clam or nodule fragments, may be left behind to act as nuclei for new nodules;
 Good oxygen supply: The Antarctic bottom water transports oxygen-rich water from the sea surface to
greater depths which helps in the formation of the manganese oxide compounds.
 Aqueous sediment: The sediment has to be capable of holding large amounts of pore water. Diagenetic
nodule growth can only take place in very aqueous sediments.

• Worldwide, manganese nodule occurrences contain

large amounts of metals.
• The occurrences in the Clarion- Clipperton Zone (CCZ)

hold around 10 times more manganese than the
economically minable deposits on land today.
• The amount of thallium in the CCZ is 6000 times

more than in economically exploitable deposits.
• However, it must be noted that although the marine

deposits are compared to actual economically
recoverable occurrences on land, the actual recovery
of metals from manganese nodules is uncertain.

Type of Average
Resources found
deposit Depth (m)
Poly-
Nickel, copper, cobalt,
metallic 4000 – 6000
and manganese
nodules
Mainly cobalt, some
Manganese
800 – 2400 vanadium, molybdenum
crusts
and platinum
Sulphide Copper, lead and zinc
1400 – 3700
deposits some gold and silver

Development of Deep-Sea Mining Systems
• Ocean mining is performed using a group of methods for the recovery of:
 Shallow unconsolidated deposits on the continental shelves,
 Deep deposits containing metallic nodules, and
 Consolidated deposits close to the shores (16 km).
• However, other than shallow-water projects to recover unconsolidated minerals from coastal areas, the
technology is still in its nascent stage due to several political, technological, and economic constraints
• Unconsolidated marine deposits, regardless of depth, are similar to placer deposits on dry land, because
they are mechanical concentrations of heavy minerals. Therefore, they can be extracted with the principles
of placer mining with minor modifications to the mining technology and equipment practices. Standard
dredging practices can be adapted to mine deeper unconsolidated deposits. However, innovative or novel
adaptations may be necessary to solve the problems associated with deep-sea deposits.
• All proposed seabed ocean-mining system conceptually consists of three main components:
 Support vessels that acts as a working platform,
 Lifting system with a coupling and hoist
 Seabed Resource Collector (excavating unit)

Development of Deep-Sea Mining Systems
• Recent technological advancements include the use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to collect mineral samples from
prospective mine sites.
• Using drills and other cutting tools, the ROVs obtain samples to be analyzed for precious materials. Once a site has been located, a
mining ship or station is set up to mine the area.
• There are two predominant forms of mineral extraction being considered for full-scale operations:
 Continuous-Line Bucket system (CLB)
 Hydraulic Suction system

Continuous-Line Bucket system (CLB)
• The CLB system is the preferred method of nodule collection which operates like a conveyor-belt. It
operates from the sea floor to the surface of the ocean where a ship or mining platform extracts the
desired minerals and returns the tailings to the ocean.
• This system consists of a surface vessel, a loop of cable to which dredge buckets are attached at
25-50 m intervals, a traction machine on the surface vessel capable of moving the cable such
that the buckets descend to the ocean along one side of the loop, skim over the sea floor on the
bottom side of the loop to gather the nodules and return to the surface on the third side of the
loop.
• Various forms of this system such as a two-ship system have been developed in order to achieve
better control over cable separation and therefore width of the bucket cut at the sea floor.
• Due to design simplicity, the capital costs of the CLB System are relatively low. The main cost is
related to the surface vessel and the system can recover nodules from any depth up to 5500 m.
• One such system was tested on a former whaling ship The Akurei Maru which consisted of an 8
km cable attached with buckets at regular intervals. Although some nodules were gathered the
test was stopped due to entanglements of the cable line.
Continuous-Line Bucket system (CLB)

Hydraulic Suction system
• Three forms of the hydraulic system are under consideration:
 Powered by centrifugal dredge pumps,
 Powered by air injected into the pipeline
 Combination of the two.
• The hydraulic system consists of:
 Pipe suspended from a surface float or vessel
 Gathering head designed to collect and inspect the nodules from the
surface sediments and feed them to the bottom of the pipeline while
rejecting oversized material
 Pumping system to allow the water inside the pipeline to flow upward
with sufficient velocity to suck the nodules and move them to the
surface of the ocean.

Hydraulic Suction system: Deep-sea Ventures Inc. Proposal
• Two types of deep-sea hydraulic dredges have been proposed for the mining
of manganese nodules.
• Figure illustrates the system proposed by the Deep-sea Ventures Group.
• It is supported by a surface vessel and is powered by an air-lift pump with air

being injected into the pipeline at about 35% of the dredging depth.
• The system is supported by a submerged float to prevent surface wave

motions from being transmitted to the dredge pipeline.
• A centrifugal dredge pump of several stages is located inside the main

flotation tank at about 15% of the dredging depth.
• The entire dredge rotates around its long axis with collecting heads fanning
out at the seafloor so that the dredge can cut a very wide area throughout
the nodule deposit with a low lateral motion.
• This avoids high energy inputs to move the dredge at high velocities over the
deposit.
Hydraulic Suction system: Blue Mining Tech Inc. Proposal
• This system includes the following components that can be changed

according to the deposit:
 Mining Support Vehicle (MSV)
 Vertical Transport System (VTS)
 Seafloor Mining Tool
 Transport Vessels
 Mineral Processing and Refining Plants


• The proposed Mining Support Vehicle (MSV) consists of a moonpool for deployment
of Vertical Transport System (VTS), a Heavy Lift System, Storage and accommodation
facility for the workers.
• VTS is primarily used for lifting the ore onboard the MSV. It provides energy to the
mining tool and facilitates the transmission of signals. It consists of a combination of
rigid and flexible riser sections which can be maneuvered to facilitate the mining and
recovery of ore.
• The riser section consists of a pump and material buffer to enable material
separation. A VTS can be designed to lift 400 Tons of solids on average per operating
hour over a vertical distance of up to 5000 m.
• With airlift technology, compressed air is injected at one or multiple points which
reduces the slurry density and leads to hydrostatic pressure displacement. Similarly,
with the help of centrifugal pumps, overpressure is generated within the riser which
leads to material recovery. The centrifugal pump configuration consists of six booster
stations wherein 2 pumps are installed at each station.
• The seafloor mining tool (SMT) is a special type of autonomous or remote-controlled

underwater vehicle similar to marine diamond mining, trenching, or cable laying. It
works on the principle of an agricultural harvester wherein it displaces the resource
from sediments by means of cutting action. The mining tool is designed to sustain
extreme saline environments of the deep sea with pressures at about 50 MPa and
temperatures around 2 °C



Seafloor Massive Sulphide Mining: Papua New Guinea (PNG) Case study

Papua New Guinea (PNG) Case study
• PNG is situated in the Ring of Fire between the Oceanic Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. This area has a regular tectonic
activity which contributes to the natural resource richness and diversity of PNG.
• Manus Basin is located north of PNG in the Bismarck Sea and contains several areas of hydrothermal activity and vent. This
hydrothermal activity produces gold, copper, zinc, and silver sources in the form of poly-metallic massive sulphides.
• A variety of organisms also inhabit Manus Basin vent sites.

• The proposed Mining procedure includes the following stages:
1. Exploration: Exploration phase involves operations as locating, sea-bottom

scanning and sampling using technologies such as echo-sounders, side scan
sonars, deep-towed photography, ROVs, AUVs.
• Locating: The exploratory technology is similar to petroleum industry. Active

plumes can be located from the plume of smoke. Continental margin fault lines
can be followed using side scan sonar. Vent fields occur along continental
margins with frequent geological instability. Inactive vents can be found along
with active vents. Active vent can be located by detecting compounds or
elements such as methane and manganese, which occur in the water around
the source vent. However, locating inactive vents is difficult and, in such cases,
techniques such as side-scan sonar, seismic surveyors, and deep-tow video
systems are used to find an SMS mound .

1. Exploration:
• Sampling: Once located, SMS deposit is sampled for ore grade

and tonnage. Ore sample retrieval is achieved by a submarine,
ROV, drilling, or dredging. Submarines and ROVs are equipped
with multi-function manipulator arms with a drill-pack to
retrieve a 75 mm diameter core of 15 m length. Manned
submarines are more expensive to operate than ROVs and
have an operating depth ranging between 400-6500 m. ROVs
used are used for a depth of 3500m and can stay underwater
for more than a week.
1. Exploration:
• Drilling: If the initial samples indicate a high-grade ore, and

the video and sonar surveys show a SMS deposit of
commercially exploitable size, then coring is required. Grid
drilling is used to determine the average ore grade
throughout the body of the deposit and to determine its
volume. Drilling can be achieved by drill-ship or by a
remotely operated coring machine. Drill-ships like The
JOIDES Resolution cost $180,000/day. The need for a
cheaper solution has led to remotely operated coring
machines which can be lowered to the drill site thus
avoiding the need for long drill strings.
1. Exploration:
• Drilling: Available drilling and Coring devices:

Coring Depth Core Diameter
System Depth (m)
(m) (mm)
PROD 2000 100 40
BMS 6000 20 44
PROD: Portable Remote Operated Drill (AUS/USA)

BMS: Benthic Multi-coring System (Japan/USA)

2. Extraction: Trial mining begins once the size and ore grade of the deposit have been assessed:
• Remotely Operated Vehicles (DRIVE BODY): Deep-Sea Mining operations is conducted using a ROV. The
various attachments of an ROV assists the mining operation in an uncertain environment. ROVs have a
crawler track construction that crawl over the seafloor. However, if the seafloor is rugged it is difficult to
set down and employ the proposed ROVs to cut the first layer. These ROVs are powered electrically from
an anchored platform with an output of 200 Tons per hour.
• Cutters (Ore Crusher): Two designs are used to fragment the sulphide deposit:
1. Cutter-drum similar to coal mining application
2. Rotational Head Cutters used for Ocean Diamond Mining
Cutting teeth on the drum cutter are designed to minimize the production of ultra fine particle and
optimized to produce particles averaging 50 mm in size and as large as 70 mm. Natural particle sizes of
the minerals in the ore depend on the formation processes and can range from 10 to 600 microns,
though larger sizes can form when early-formed minerals are continuously re-crystallized by
hydrothermal reworking.

2. Extraction:
• Cutters (Ore Crusher): Plumes can develop due to the production of ultra-fine
particles where the cutter teeth meet the rock. Rock cutters are designed such
that the separation distance of the teeth fractures the rock. Cutter teeth distance
and pattern is dictated by the fracturing characteristics of the target rock. Fine
material is created by the crushing force of the tooth as it enters the rock and
forms a high-stress area between the tooth and rock, which then creates
fractures that form the desired rock chips. The drum cutter design may be less
expensive and easier to modify, but its open design may still create pluming
problems. The rotational head design reduces pluming since the rotation of the 3
cutter heads draws the crushed ore to the middle of the three heads where the
lift hose opening is located.

2. Extraction:

2. Extraction:
• Ore-Lifter: The SMS ore is lifted to the platform and prepared for transportation to
a processing plant. Ore can be lifted using one of the following techniques:
• The RISER PIPE technique uses cold deep-sea water as a transport medium,
wherein the ore is dewatered at the MSV and the ore fines are recovered using a
cyclone separators. The lift-water is returned to a location in the water-column.
This technique is capable of producing over 2MT per year
• The WIRE-LINE BUCKET technique is derived from the mining of crustal deposits
and uses big buckets connected in series by a wire. This method can be used for
smaller sulphide deposits or when the scale of the operation is low.

3. Transportation: Preliminary studies of the mineral deposits by Nautilus

Minerals Inc. suggests that the processing and storage of SMS deposits is feasible
if performed on the off-shore plants. The extracted deposits recovered from the
cyclone separator are loaded onto a bulk carrier cargo ships from the MSVs.
4. Processing: Processing methods of massive sulphide deposits typically recover

only 40% of the gold. Processing is performed using cyanide-based solutions.
Due to the risks and limitations of cyanide-laced tailings, a potential solution is
the disposal of such tailings deep beneath the ocean where the anoxic
conditions prevent the formation of sulphuric acid and limit the heavy-metal
dissolution. There are 26 such tailings disposal operations in the world and the
majority are found in the Asia-Pacific region.

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:

Manganese Nodules Mining: Clarion- Clipperton Zone (CCZ) Case study
CLICK BELOW
Higher Resolution Map.webp

CLICK BELOW
HMS Challenger Nodule (circa 1875).webp

• The following case studies and illustrations are from the manganese nodule exploration mission
within the German License Area (GLA). The project was granted for 15 years beginning on July 19 th,
2006. The project was granted to Germany which is currently entirely dependent on the import of
several metals (Mn, Co, Cu & Ni).
• The GLA encompasses a total of 75,000 km2, divided into two regions with 15,000 km2 in the central
part and 60,000 km2 in the eastern part of the manganese nodule belt. The area is located between
Hawaii and Mexico and has a depth of 4000-6000 meters which is densely covered with polymetallic
nodules about 3 to 8 cm in diameter. On average they contain 30% manganese and about 3% of
copper, nickel and cobalt. Mineralogical characteristics of the nodules vary significantly with location
• The regulations on prospecting and exploration of manganese nodules adopted by the ISA require
each contractor to gather environmental baseline data during the 15 years exploration phase.
• In addition to the collection of biological data, detailed analyses of the oceanographic and
sedimentological characteristics of the license area must be carried out (e.g., current strengths and
directions, particle concentrations in the water column, shear strengths, composition and grain size of
the sediment, seafloor topography).

• Deep-sea manganese nodules are found in high oxidizing environments in the oceans
such as CCZ. Relatively high oxidizing environment promotes the precipitation of
manganese from seawater, and a low rate of sedimentation prevents the slowly
forming nodules from being buried.
• Although many factors may be involved in controlling the rate of formation of the
nodules and their ultimate composition, concentration and size, these other factors do
not appear to play a dominant role in the actual formation of the nodule deposits.
• Nodules range in color from light brown to earthy black, are friable, with a hardness
less than 3-4 on the Mohs scale, and have a bulk density varying from 2.0 to 3.1. They
generally vary from 0.5 to 25 cm in diameter The size range and distribution of the
nodules are important in economic considerations for several reasons.

• At present, only the commonly found loose-lying, roughly spherical concretions at the surface of
the soft seafloor sediments are of economic interest. A deposit of the nodules may be of very
high surface density wherein the surface of the sea floor may be covered by closely packed
nodules. However, small nodules (less than about 0.5 cm) are also found in CCZ wherein the
surficial concentration is relatively low (<5 kg/m2 of sea floor).
• For the actual mining operation to be feasible, the equipment will need to deliver nodules at a
rate of at least tons per day. Therefore, the gathering head would be required to cover about 2
km2 per day assuming a 50% recovery efficiency in such low concentration deposits. Using a 10 m
wide gathering device, the collector head would therefore have to traverse the ocean floor at a
velocity of about 10 km/hr (5.4 knots).
• However, field scale studies suggest that practical velocity achieved by such devices is around 2
km/h. Therefore, at present, mining is planned to be performed only on larger-sized nodules as
they can be easily recovered from the sediments.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:
• Mining processes and machinery directly destroy habitats and degrade water quality with the large plumes of sediment produced.
In order to be profitable, a single deep-sea mining operation would require several hundred square kilometers to be mined each
year. Further, areas with metallic resources are habitats for diverse ecosystems which hold beneficial biochemical potential,
including design of antibiotics and cancer treatment.
• Deep-sea species require decades to centuries to recolonize disturbed habitats, and the metallic resources take millions of years
to grow. Deep-sea mining represents the most significant conservation threat to the deep-sea due to its vast spatial scale and long
recovery time.
• While ploughing through the sea floor the harvesting machines stir up sediment. Ocean currents can move this sediment cloud
through the area. When the sediments finally settle down to the sea floor again, sensitive organisms could be permanently
damaged.
• The mining, pumping and cleaning of the manganese nodules creates noise and vibrations, which disturb marine mammals such
as dolphins, and could force them out of their natural habitat.




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(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• Deep sea mining is a mineral retrieval process that takes place on

• Ocean mining sites are usually around large areas of poly-metallic

• The vents create globular or massive sulphide deposits, which contain

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

NEED OF DEEP-SEA MINING

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

 Seafloor massive sulfides (SMS)

 Ferromanganese & Cobalt Crusts

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• Worldwide, manganese nodule occurrences contain

• The occurrences in the Clarion- Clipperton Zone (CCZ)

• The amount of thallium in the CCZ is 6000 times

• However, it must be noted that although the marine

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

 Shallow unconsolidated deposits on the continental shelves,

 Deep deposits containing metallic nodules, and

 Consolidated deposits close to the shores (16 km).

 Support vessels that acts as a working platform,

 Lifting system with a coupling and hoist

 Seabed Resource Collector (excavating unit)

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

 Continuous-Line Bucket system (CLB)

 Hydraulic Suction system

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• Three forms of the hydraulic system are under consideration:

 Powered by centrifugal dredge pumps,

 Powered by air injected into the pipeline

 Combination of the two.

• The hydraulic system consists of:

 Pipe suspended from a surface float or vessel

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• Figure illustrates the system proposed by the Deep-sea Ventures Group.

• It is supported by a surface vessel and is powered by an air-lift pump with air

• The system is supported by a submerged float to prevent surface wave

• A centrifugal dredge pump of several stages is located inside the main

• This system includes the following components that can be changed

 Mining Support Vehicle (MSV)

 Vertical Transport System (VTS)

 Seafloor Mining Tool

 Mineral Processing and Refining Plants

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• The seafloor mining tool (SMT) is a special type of autonomous or remote-controlled

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• A variety of organisms also inhabit Manus Basin vent sites.

(MNL 431) NOVEL MINING METHODS

• The proposed Mining procedure includes the following stages:

1. Exploration: Exploration phase involves operations as locating, sea-bottom

• Locating: The exploratory technology is similar to petroleum industry. Active