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By Katherine H. Walton

The research affiliate projects of the Continental Shelf Division of the Marine Minerals Technology Center concentrate on the development of technologies and methodologies for the exploration 4 and assessment of nonfuel continental shelf mineral resources within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Three of the FY 1990-91 research grants are summarized below. Scientists at the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia have developed ?An Advanced Design for a Seafloor Gamma Isotope Mapping System? for the rapid collection of data on seafloor sediments. This system is designed to detect gamma radiation emitted by naturally occurring radioactive elements found in marine sediments. This data can be used to study seafloor lithology and has direct application in marine mineral surveys. The purpose of this study has been to redesign and calibrate the system for marine mineral survey work. Recent modifications of the sled design, gamma radiation detector, and supporting software have resulted in considerable improvements in sensitivity, functional operation, and data acquisition.

Jan 1, 1991

By V. Soloviev

The world?s data available on near sea-bottom gas-hydrate accumulation and deep-water fluid-discharge areas are presented in this paper. Gas-hydrate accumulation associated with fluid discharge (mud volcanoes, gas seeps, gas-saturated water seeps) is characterized by the following. First, the largest hydrate accumulations in sediments are located at shallow subbottom depths and have well-defined limits, especially in the upper subbottom part. Second, gas-hydrate formation in fluid-discharge areas is a present-day process, with the global occurrence of deep-water fluid-discharge areas numbering up to about ten thousand, and with all the seep areas being favorable for the formation of near-sea-bottom gas-hydrate accumulation. Third and principal, gas resources in the hydrates can be considered as renewable. Estimates of possible gas volume in single accumulations of hydrates and the global budget, as well as possible methods of gas utilization from such gas-hydrate accumulations are discussed in the paper.

Jan 1, 2005

By Hal Palmer

A number of Articles contained in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea III (UNCLOS) bear directly on legal issues related to the recovery of mineral deposits on the ocean floor. Mineral resources of the continental margin other than oil, gas and hydrates include, sand, gravel, shell, coral, gemstones and phosphorite. Jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of these deposits is determined either by the Territorial Sea claims of a coastal state or their recognized sovereign rights in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). At least 33 coastal states have the right under Article 76 (Continental Shelf regime) to claim seabed jurisdiction beyond 200 nautical miles (EEZ limit). In addition, several states have "Pioneer Investor" status with regard to seabed resources in international waters (The Area). A global maritime boundary database (GMBD) has been developed as a basic resource identifying the current claims of coastal states. It provides detailed information on existing boundaries and limits determined by the UNCLOS accords or by multi-lateral agreements which affect mineral exploration and exploitation. This paper will describe the GMBD and its construction and maintenance.

Jan 1, 2000

By Georgy Cherkashov

Shallow-water formation of marine ferromanganese nodules as well as their deep-water analogues is found throughout the global ocean. The Baltic Sea is a key province for the shallow-water type of marine minerals. The following main distribution areas of Fe-Mn nodules have so far been discovered in the Baltic Sea: the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Riga, Central Baltic area (Gdansk- Klaipeda) and the Gulf of Finland. The last area (Gulf of Finland/Finnish Bay) is the best studied from all aspects including geological prospecting and environmental assessment.

Sep 14, 2011

By Øystein Sture, Kurt Aasly, Ben Snook, Sigurd A. Sørum

INTRODUCTION Efficient exploration methodologies for base metal deposits have huge benefits for future deep sea mining endeavours, and underwater hyperspectral imaging (UHI) has been variably demonstrated to have applications in the identification and characterisation of mineralisation on the seafloor for both nodules and seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) (Dumke et al., 2018 and 2017 respectively). Due to growing resource requirements (Singer, 2017), SMS deposits are considered to be increasingly significant sources of copper and zinc, as well as silver and gold. This style of mineralisation is currently occurring at active hydrothermal vents (black and white smokers) but now-inactive sites also have the potential to be large mineral deposits. As such, the development of novel methodologies to detect both on-going and extinct mineralisations are of high importance. Geological setting During the MarMine cruise (Ludvigsen et al., 2016), non-mineralised host rock, low grade ore and high grade ore grab samples (Snook et al., 2018) was collected by ROV from the Loki’s Castle deposit (Pedersen et al., 2010), located on the Mohn’s/Knipovich junction on the ultra-slow spreading Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge (AMOR), at a depth of approximately 2300 m. This material has been characterised as part of the MarMine project (e.g. Snook et al., 2017), and, by imaging compositionally constrained material, the measured hyperspectral responses can be used to generate a library for identification of deposits on the ocean floor. UHI technology Remote sensing with hyperspectral and multispectral technologies has seen wide use in prospecting for ores and hydrocarbons on land (Van der Meer et al., 2012). Iron oxides and sulphides have low blue reflectance and high red reflectance in the visible spectrum. The ratio between these two pairs has been used in exploration for terrestrial deposits of hydrothermal origin (Sabins, 1999). This discrimination typically also includes wavelengths exceeding the visible spectrum (1.5µm – 2.5µm). These wavelengths are typically not utilised underwater because infrared wavelengths and higher are rapidly attenuated in water. However, discrimination based on the full shape of the spectral response in the visible light (350nm – 800nm) may still be possible (Bolin and Moon, 2003). Resolving the endmembers from the spectral responses requires prior knowledge about the optical properties of the materials, i.e. their reflectance. These reflectances can be obtained in a controlled environment, where the spectra of the lamps, wavelength- dependent attenuation in water and scattering of light can be accounted for (Johnsen, 2013).

Jan 1, 2018

By Akuila K. Tawake

The occurrences of polymetallic minerals within the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of many Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have been confirmed through marine scientific researches and seabed minerals exploration in the last forty years, and are increasingly being recognized by nations as a future potential source of revenue and economic development. For many of the smaller PICs, this may represent the only exploitable natural resource sector apart from fish. SOPAC (then under the CCOP/SOPAC) was actively involved with deep sea mineral exploration in many countries in the South Pacific between the 1970s and early 1980s that led to the discovery of a number of seabed mineral occurrences within the EEZs of these countries. In collaboration with SOPAC, a number of multinational consortia and national agencies were involved in this early stage of seabed mineral prospecting in the region. This was followed by a twenty-year (1985-2005) marine mineral prospecting in the Pacific through the collaborative effort of the Government of Japan and SOPAC as well as the Ridge 2000 program. Other mineral prospecting and marine scientific research initiatives have been conducted in recent years and the most notable one is the Nautilus Minerals advanced exploration in the Manus Basin in PNG. Based on the results of previous exploration, a number of countries in the region with moderate to high deep sea mineral resources potential are identified. Seafloor Massive Sulphide deposits have been confirmed in PNG, Tonga and Fiji while the Cook Islands and Kiribati have high manganese nodule resources potential in addition to significant occurrences of Cobalt-rich Crust within the EEZs of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Despite the recent surge in deep sea minerals interest and activity around the Pacific, specific policy, legislation and regulations necessary for the governance of deep sea mineral resources are lacking. Also lacking is the specific technical and human resources capacity essential to ensure that PICs are able to effectively manage these seabed resources. Consequently, SOPAC under the EU funded Deep-Sea Minerals (DSM) Project will work with Pacific ACP States to develop a regional regulatory framework from which they can develop their national frameworks for the sustainable management of their marine mineral resources. The work is of critical importance if PICs are to have effective environmental, fiscal and social management instruments in place for the exploration and exploitation of deep sea minerals that could support economic growth within the region as a whole.

Jan 1, 2010

By Grigori Abramov

As we enter into the 21st Century, miners are looking more attentively at new mining technologies allowing decrease environment damage along with operational cost. This technic would allow developing of poor and difficult mineral deposits, including the World Ocean offshore zone. Borehole Mining is an underground/underwater remote method of mining carried out from floating platforms or vessels. Definition of Borehole Mining (BHM), working schematic, main technical data and its advantages are given. The method is currently in use in mining of different type of raw materials, such as: uranium, iron ore, quartz sand, coal, polymetallic ores, phosphate, gold, diamonds, rare earths, amber and more. It is also in use in oil and gas stimulation, salt domes storages building and environmental problems solution. Recently recorded data of Borehole Mining productivity (80-100 t/hour/hole) and a depth of mining (over 1 km) has been achieved in a last couple years. Remoteness of method not only secures complete safety of operations but also allows wide sector of underwater applications. The World leaders in Borehole Mining are Russia and the United States. Based on previous experience the Universal Tool for Seabed Borehole Mining has been developed for wide sector of usage: from exploration and mining - through oil & gas stimulation to souterrain storages construction and lake's bottom cleaning.

Jan 1, 2000

By Jai-Woon Moon

Lemkein seamount located in the west of the Kuwajleen Atoll of RMI is a relatively samll, simple-shaped, peaked type seamount with its base at 4,500 m and summit at 1,452 m water depths. Ferromanganese crusts were identified in the water depth range between 2,000 m and 2,500 m, and they were mostly observed on the northern slopes of the seamount. Among various substrate rocks, breccia occurred most commonly with crusts and formed the thickest crust layers. Average thickness of the Lemkein crusts was about 5 cm. Their chemical compositions were similar to other crusts found in the RMI area; Mn=25.82%, Fe=15.29%, Co=0.74%, Ni=0.56%. Lemkein crusts were characterized by their four distinctive internal layers; 1) Massive Layer 1; 2)Porous, Fe-stained or sediment infilled Layer 2; 3) Massive to slightly porous Layer 3; and, 4)Massive, Dense, Phosphotized, CFA veined Layer 4. Layers 1 and 2 were generally similar in composition, but highest Co concentrations were measured in Layer 1 while relatively higher concentrations of Al, Rb, Fe, and Ti were observed in Layer 2. Layer 3 showed higher concentrations of Ca and P than Layers 1 and 2. Based on the Co-chronography, the age of Layer 1 is 0¡?6 Ma (growth rate = 1.50 mm/Ma), Layer 2 is 6¡?15 Ma (1.75 mm/Ma), Layer 3 is 15¡?27Ma (1.76 mm/Ma), and Layer 4 is 27¡?45 Ma (2.06 mm/Ma). These preliminary results indicated that high Co contents in Layer 1 resulted from slow growth rates; Layer 2 was formed under relatively strong influence of high terrestrial input; and, Layer 3 was probably affected by a minor phosphatization event occurring in 15 Ma.

Jan 1, 2000

By Raymond A. Binns

Drilling into an active hydrothermal system linked to convergent-margin felsic magmatism is a listed priority of the Ocean Drilling Program that addresses several fundamental geoscience issues. Solid and fluid products of felsic rock-water interaction, and the consequences for global chemical fluxes and for ore deposition, should differ from those in basaltic mid-ocean ridge environments already successfully tested by Legs 106, 139, 158 and 169. So, too, will fracturing controls on fluid pathways, and sources for metals and ligands. Researching the subsurface volcanic, structural/hydrologic, and mineralisation/alteration architecture of a drilled felsic-hosted system also has economic implications, especially for land¬based mineral exploration. A first-order hypothesis to be tested states that fluids derived from volatile-rich magmas are more important than recirculated seawater in convergent-margin hydrothermal systems - economic geologists increasingly appeal to this for creating "world-class" massive sulfide orebodies. Another hypothesis proposes "subhalative" massive sulfide deposition within hydraulically expanded volcanic products as a factor in generating large orebodies. Many second-order hypotheses such as leaching fractionated volcanics to cause gold enrichment in back¬arc systems also need testing. The thoroughly surveyed, active, PACMANUS hydrothermal field in the Eastern Manus back-arc basin of Papua New Guinea will be the site for ODP Leg 193 commencing in November 2000. It lies near the crest (1655-1750 m) of high-standing Pual Ridge, a 40 km-long edifice of dacite/rhyodacite with basal andesite all having geochemical and isotopic affinities with modern arc volcanoes of nearby New Britain. PACMANUS includes at least three focussed, high-temperature "smoker" sites with Cu+Au-rich massive sulfide deposits, and a field of diffuse, lower temperature venting through intensely altered dacite where modelling indicates significant subsurface mineralisation. Isotopic characteristics of deposits and vent fluids suggest magmatic contributions to the mineralising fluids.

Jan 1, 2000

By Michael J. Cruickshank

The University of Hawaii, Ocean Basins Division (OBD) shares, equally with the University of Mississippi, Continental Shelf Division (CSD), congressional funding for the Marine Minerals Technology Center, a Generic Minerals Center under the U.S. Department of the Interior's Mineral Institutes Program. The State of Hawaii supports the program by the provision of salaries for the Executive and Technical Directors and by the provision of fiscal, administrative, and facilities support through the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, and the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. The Center's program of research, technology development and education is multi-disciplinary and international in scope. Activities since the MMTC/OBD was established in June 1988 have included: Research projects * Development of a Free-Fall Seafloor Hard Substrate Corer. * The Microtopography of Manganese Crust deposits. * Evaluation of the Cobalt Crust Continuum on Seamounts in the Hawaiian Exclusive Economic Zone. * Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. * Computer Aided Design Methodology for Power, Communication and Strength Umbilicals. * Characterization and Environmental Impact Assessment of Tropical * Reef-derived sands for Beach Replenishment.

Jan 1, 1991

By Tetsuo Yamazaki

Natural methane hydrate has been scientifically studied as a global carbon reservoir. However, in Japan, it?s potential as an energy resource has been industrially highlighted, because there are few domestic oil and natural gas resources in Japan, but many potential deposition areas for methane hydrate in the sea around Japan. Less CO2 discharge from methane compared with coal, oil and conventional natural gas for the same calorie value is considered an advantage for its use as an energy resource. Because methane hydrate is distributed at shallow depth in sediments on the ocean floor, accidental leakage of methane may occur while we utilize methane hydrate. Methane itself has a considerable impact on the greenhouse effect, if it reaches the atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate its behavior in the environment after leakage if we want to use methane hydrate as energy resource. The mass balance after leakage of methane on the seafloor and in the water column can be studied through the analyses of natural cold seepages and hydrothermal activity.

Jan 1, 2004

By Dorothy B. Niell, O&apos

In its first three years of operations, the in-house programs of the continental Shelf Division of the Marine Minerals Technology Center (MMTC/CSD) have focused on the development of drill systems - technology and the improvement of techniques and applications of reconnaissance methods to marine mineral deposit characterization. Many of the technological advances made to date have been in direct response to specific requests from industry for drill systems needs, and from federal and state agencies seeking technical support for various research efforts. These cooperative programs have proven to be an extremely efficient and effective way for the MMTC to achieve some of the main program goals that were established for the organization at the outset: primarily, to encourage and assist U.S. industry in marine minerals research activities and to encourage cooperative work among research institutions, government agencies, and industry. The primary achievements of the MMTC/CSD to date include the development of the Remote Placer Drill System for rapid reconnaissance drilling of precious metal placer deposits (including both pneumatic prototype and hydraulic production

Jan 1, 1991

By Dallas L. Peck

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed phase 1 of a mapping effort that makes the United States the first nation to systematically acquire image maps of its underwater lands. In 1984, the USGS, as part of its mission to map and characterize the resources of the Federal lands, began a mapping effort in the newly proclaimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The goal was to provide sonar image maps of this frontier area within 10 years. The mapping program is on schedule, with two-thirds of the EEZ sea floor, approximately 2 million square nautical miles, happed in 7 years. The deep water EEZ (depth greater than 200 m) around the 50 states is now complete except for the North Slope of Alaska, where ice precludes our surveying with a surface ship. Phase 2 of the EEZ mapping effort will begin in 1994, focusing on the American Flag islands of the western Pacific. Approximately 1 million square nautical miles of sea floor remain to be mapped around the islands.

Jan 1, 1992

By Anthony T. Jones

Deep seabed mining requires technology to collect materials and transport them to the surface. An international patent search was conducted to define the state of the art in seabed mining technology. Over 350 patents were identified from 12 patent systems. The majority was from the United States, Japan, and the former USSR. Patent activity in this field peaked in 1983 when 34 patents were issued. Since 1984, on average 6 patents have been issued annually. The technology represents ten major classifications. With the exception of Deepsea Ventures, Kawasaki and International Nickel, it appears that much of the technology developed and tested in the 1970s by consortia active in seabed mining was never patented. Over the past two decades, identifiable trends in marine technology could influence seabed mining application such as more sophisticated communication systems, advances in hydraulic manipulators, improved computational technology in navigation, modeling of vessel ? ocean interactions, and improved materials. The most significant recent activity has been in European applications, which disclose remotely controlled subsea vehicles for mining diamonds.

Jan 1, 2001

By Nobuyuki Okamoto

The present three-year long phase of the SOPAC/Japan Deep Sea Co-operative Mineral Resources Programme [Programme], commenced in 2000. The Programme has been funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and the Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ), since 1985. Field survey activities and associated data analysis and interpretation, for the Programme, has largely been carried out by the Deep Ocean Resources Development Co., Ltd. (DORD). The Government of Japan has, since 1982, recognised DORD as one of its ? Pioneer Investigators? for manganese nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone . Although the objective of this paper is to present the results of the drilling cruise that was conducted from December 2001 to January 2002, within the North Fiji Basin, in Fiji?s EEZ, it will also seek to provide a broad overview of the results of the cruise conducted within the Cook Islands in May to June 2000, as well as present preliminary results of the cruise conducted in the Marshall Islands in June to July 2002.

Jan 1, 2002

By Stephen Hall

Introduction Marine Autonomous Systems are making rapid progress from their early years as research tools for university departments & government institutes into having a growing number of real-world applications for industry, academia, statutory inspection, data acquisition and defence. Deep sea mining offers a distinct set of challenges that are very well suited to autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and to a lesser extent for autonomous surface vehicles. Deeper, smarter, more capable Global demand for rare earth metals and high-grade ore will inevitably lead to exploitation of deep ocean resources as terrestrial reserves become depleted or remain unavailable for political or environmental reasons. Winning production licenses from the international seabed authority and especially gaining public trust to undertake deep sea mining activities and licenses will depend upon high quality pre-exploitation scientific surveys of the sea floor ecosystem, and subsequent monitoring of the impact of mining activity and remediation work. The actual area covered by the seabed mining operation may be quite small in terms of square kilometres, but still larger than can be patrolled by tethered ‘eyeball’ class Remote Operated Vehicles, so multi-spectral inspection, assessment and monitoring will be more effective when carried out by untethered AUVs. By using seabed recharging stations and data upload points the AUV can stay in situ in the deep ocean, rather than be repeatedly brought back to the surface.

Jan 1, 2018

By K. T. Damodaran

The Chavara and Manavalakurichi placer deposits have been known since a long time for their rich reserves of heavy minerals like ilmenite, rutile, monazite etc. While detailed work has been conducted on the mineralogy and texture of the bulk placer sediments, reports on the detailed investigations on individual minerals are relatively scanty. Though, limited work pertaining to the chemistry of ilmenite has been carried out by Nair et al (1995) and Ramakrishnan et al (1997), a comprehensive study of the weathering patterns of ilmenite along the longitudinal and vertical profiles has not been, so far, undertaken. Data on the microscopic analysis of ilmenite from the southwest placers, too, is sketchy. The present work deals with the variation of the weathering undergone by ilmenite in the southwest placer deposits based on chemical and mineralogical analyses.

Jan 1, 2002

By Charles L. Morgan

For the past twenty years or so the oceans of the world have been transformed in the minds of most Americans from the ultimate and nearly infinite receptacles for sewage and other wastes to an almost sacrosanct and threatened last refuge of Mother Nature from man on Earth. While this general movement has helped somewhat to moderate the flows of pollutants into the oceans, it has had severe and sometimes devastating impacts upon various attempts to develop seabed mineral resources. Marine mining proposals have been easy targets for attack. In most cases, they have short or no histories and involve prototype or first-generation methods. They commonly lack major financial backing, and do not command significant public support. Their constituents are limited. Opposition movements to such proposals have been able to evoke strong support by appealing to this "last refuge" image and depicting mining operations as the final assault. In mounting these public appeals, the movements obtain visibility and support. Because of the small and sometimes tentative status of the constituencies which support particular proposal s, the potential liabilities for opposition movements are minimal.

Jan 1, 1989

In early 1990s, the Korean government has launched a deep-sea research program to secure the stable long-term supply of strategic metallic minerals including Cr, Cu and Ni. Through the pioneering surveys, Korea registered 150,000 km2 of Mn-nodule field in the Clarion-Clipperton area, the NE equatorial Pacific to the international sea-bed authority (ISA) in 1994. Following the ISA exploration code, the final exclusive exploration area of 75,000 Km2 was assigned in 2002, based on results of eight-year researches of chemicophysical properties of nodules, bottom profiles and sediment properties. Since that time, environmental studies, mining technical developments including robot miner and lifting system and establishment of smelting systems were accompanied with the detailed geophysical studies to decipher the priori mining area until 2009. Major points of the recent Korea Mn-nodule program are deployed on a commercial scale until 2015. In order to meet the goals, detailed 25,000 scaled mining maps in the priori area will be prepared, which can provide operation roots of the miner. In addition, an environmental-friendly mining strategy will be pursued based on the environmental impact test and environmental monitoring.

Sep 14, 2011

By Alexander Malahoff

The study of why and how life survives in the Extreme environment is a major frontier of science today. Extremophiles are organisms that require extreme environment including high temperature, pH, pressure and salt concentration, or low temperature, pH, nutrient concentration, or water availability. Their common habitats are geothermal vents, pools, lakes and craters of active volcanic regions, such as those of New Zealand, Japan, Kamchatka, Yellowstone USA or the hydrothermal vents of the ocean ridges and submarine volcanoes. These settings are accessible by foot, boat, helicopter, or submersibles. This presentation examines the geology, chemistry of geothermal sites of New Zealand, including the active volcano, White Island, Yellowstone, the submarine volcano Loihi in Hawaii, and sections of the mid-ocean ridges. Designing process and construction of Extremophilic sampling and bioreactor systems used in the study of Extremophiles will be discussed. The driving force behind the research of extremophiles is not only the fundamental science, but also biotechnological potential associated with these microorganisms and their cellular products. The University of Hawaii?s Marine Bioproducts and Engineering Center (MarBEC) is laying the foundations for such new industries.

Jan 1, 2001