III. Seafloor and Massive Sulfide Mining Technology
Although there will be technological variations in the mining equipment required for each type of mineral deposit, the basic concept and methodology for recovery is similar. In each case, a collector vehicle will make contact with the seafloor and collect the mineral deposits. In the case of SMS, and cobalt crusts, this will require cutting or breaking the mineral deposits from the substrate. The mined materials, combined with seawater, will be brought to the surface (most likely through hydraulics) by a riser system and transported to a surface support vessel. There the ore will be separated from the seawater and transported to processing plants on land; in the case of sulphides and cobalt crusts, the (treated) seawater will then be pumped back down to the water depth of the mine site. In the case of nodules, various methods have been proposed, including continuous line buckets, suction dredges, and picking up nodules from the seabed.
Deep-sea mining technology and its application in the environment represent the most direct impacts of the industry. Hence, technology and the practices developed for its application represent the best opportunity for the industry to directly mitigate the negative impacts as well as enhance any potentially beneficial impacts.
Exploration
1. Locating
Exploratory technology for deep-sea mining is currently in use and is similar to petroleum exploratory technology. Active vents can be located from the plume, which can be detected up to 10 km away, …show more content…
(Hayden, 2004) The ore body will be transported to shore by ships, which means platform-to-shore transport. Cargo ships generally run off of diesel engines that operate in multi-megawatt range, consuming hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel per hour (Walke; Wartsila).
Although there will be technological variations in the mining equipment required for each type of mineral deposit, the basic concept and methodology for recovery is similar. In each case, a collector vehicle will make contact with the seafloor and collect the mineral deposits. In the case of SMS, and cobalt crusts, this will require cutting or breaking the mineral deposits from the substrate. The mined materials, combined with seawater, will be brought to the surface (most likely through hydraulics) by a riser system and transported to a surface support vessel. There the ore will be separated from the seawater and transported to processing plants on land; in the case of sulphides and cobalt crusts, the (treated) seawater will then be pumped back down to the water depth of the mine site. In the case of nodules, various methods have been proposed, including continuous line buckets, suction dredges, and picking up nodules from the seabed.
Deep-sea mining technology and its application in the environment represent the most direct impacts of the industry. Hence, technology and the practices developed for its application represent the best opportunity for the industry to directly mitigate the negative impacts as well as enhance any potentially beneficial impacts.
Exploration
1. Locating
Exploratory technology for deep-sea mining is currently in use and is similar to petroleum exploratory technology. Active vents can be located from the plume, which can be detected up to 10 km away, …show more content…
(Hayden, 2004) The ore body will be transported to shore by ships, which means platform-to-shore transport. Cargo ships generally run off of diesel engines that operate in multi-megawatt range, consuming hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel per hour (Walke; Wartsila).