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By Lars-Kristian Trellevik, Jan Arvid Ingulfsen

Swire Seabed is dedicated to being at the forefront of the Autonomous Subsea Revolution. The company is currently working along and developing operational, technical and market strategies where autonomous technology is the driving force. Swire Seabed’s vessel Seabed Constructor is currently mobilized and operating eight Hugin AUVs and 6 Surface going USVs. This significant and revolutionary spread is owned by Ocean Infinity. Ocean Infinity and Swire Seabed is currently involved in the search for the missing MH370 – in about 3 months the vessel and autonomous spread have fine combed an area of deep sea floor spanning over more the 100 000 km2 . With such a considerable spread with a depth rating of 6000 meter – Swire Seabed and Ocean Infinity is challenging long held paradigms in subsea mapping and resource surveys. Highly accurate and precise data can be acquired for large areas in record time, and at a comparatively much reduced cost. As one earlier required several vessels and associated crews and logistical support – Swire Seabed and Ocean infinity are now able to operate a large number of AUVs and USVs, through technological advances in automatic data-processing and interpretation, from a single offshore vessel. This opens up vast possibilities for emerging markets such as subsea-minerals. Swire Seabed is also developing strong collaborative relationships with academic institutions. Along with UIB Swire Seabed is developing methodology for deep sea geological and geophysical resource searches applying AUVs at an industrial scale – this work is based on UIBs groundbreaking work and significant experience in the same fields. In particular Swire Seabed and K.G Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research (UIB) have developed methodologies for conducting detailed Seep-Searches at a large geographical scale. UIB and Swire Seabed is further pursuing a formalized long term relationship for academic and industrial cooperation and exchange in AUV operation and methodology development. Whilst K.G Jebsen Centre for deep sea research have been involved in basig deep sea research for years, Swire Seabed have specialized in cost-effective heavy duty operations in water depths greater the 3500 meters. This collaboration affords the subsea mining community a unique pool of both insight and operational capacity.

Jan 1, 2018

By Laurie Meyer

The need for improved, high confidence estimates of nodule abundance to support mine permitting, detailed mine planning and mining and processing equipment design is evident. To date, physical samples represent the ?Gold Standard? for nodule abundance measurement, and are likely to remain as such. However, there are some interesting improvements in the area of 3-D scanning which, if marinized for operations at 6000m, may prove to be reliable alternative methods for mapping abundance over large areas particularly if calibrated or benchmarked with physical sample data. . Features of a high confidence physical sampling device, such as the 0.75m2 (0.86m on a side) box corer developed and successfully used by the Kennecott Group for exploration in the CCZ, take into account not only the accuracy in nodule sample collection but a host of other operability considerations which can mean the difference between a successful exploration cruise yielding high numbers of large area samples and one in which few, inaccurate, often inconclusive samples are collected (or, even worse, the sampler fails to grab any nodules for any number of reasons). The collection of physical samples at appropriate spacing within a mine area combined with more qualitative indications of nodule density such as can be obtained using acoustic backscatter should prove adequate for the near term objectives related to overall abundance appraisal or estimates of ?indicated? resource. Looking ahead, exploration cruises will need to yield increasing amounts of data to support development of higher confidence resource abundance estimates to support issuance of mining permits and detailed design of mining plans and equipment. It is likely

Sep 14, 2011

By William D. Siapno

Mining the deep ocean by the year 2000 may seem far fetched. The year 2000 is but a decade away, a scant 10 years. Remember, the youngsters of today will grow up in a little more than a decade and rebut the wisdom of the ages, especially the traditions of their elders. Rude perhaps, but none the less a fact of life. Ocean mining exhibits many of these same traits. We should all brace ourselves for some rude shifts in our rapidly moving society. Major shifts in economics, politics, and social orders are the rule of the day. Communism is in retreat, our own economic structures chaotic. So in this moment of cataclysmic change, a shift in the international market place of mineral resources should not be a great surprise.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. R. Woolsey

The cost of an offshore exploration project is mainly dependent on the size of the vessel engaged for the work and increases dramatically with increasing size. Of the various factors influencing vessel size, the type and size of the sampling equipment is typically the principal consideration. This scenario is particularly true of shallow sampling programs employing a vibracore system. The problem develops when certain bottom materials such as densely packed fine sand require sampling. This type of material being one of the most difficult for the standard vibracore systems, with integral core liner, to penetrate to a reasonable depth of some five to seven meters. The problem is mainly related to the excessive cross sectional area of the cutting bit required to accommodate the core liner. The typical solution has been to apply more power to the vibracore drive head which results in a considerable scale-up for the entire system with attendant increase in vessel size. In order to reduce operating cost, M.M.R.I. has developed several systems for deployment from vessels in the 20 meter range. Two systems are modifications to the basic vibracore and a third is a vibralift system. Basically, one of the vibracore units is employed where core liners are required, utilizing a special jet bit designed to reduce the cutting pressure on the bit while not affecting the integrity of the core. The other designed for core extrusion on

Jan 1, 1986

By Ian B. Corbett

De Beers Marine Pty Ltd. (South Africa) (DEBMARINE), a wholly owned subsidiary of De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. specializes in the provision of contracting and consulting services for offshore diamond exploration, Mineral Resource Management and mining. Established in 1983, the company is strongly focused on driving and sustaining growth of the offshore diamond mining industry into the 21st century. DEBMARINE provides full Mineral Resource Management and produce almost half a million carats annually for the Namibian Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd. from their offshore mining licence. The company is also extensively involved in feasibility studies to establish new mining ventures and in the exploration of several offshore Prospecting Licence Areas for other clients. As a pioneer in this field, DEBMARINE remains highly focused on technological development. A specialized section, the Technical Development Business Unit, has been established. Through relationships with various technology leaders, this unit develops new sub-sea mining technology and delivers productivity innovations aimed at realizing maximized carat extraction. This talk provides a broad perspective on the development of the Namibian offshore deposits and examines the critical role played by high-resolution orebody characterization and high-confidence Mineral Resource development at De Beers Marine.

Jan 1, 1998

By Michael J. Cruickshank

The State of Hawaii has expressed concern over deterioration of the tourist beaches at Waikiki, which are becoming seriously depleted of sand. In this report the options for acquisition, transportation and placement .of sand on the beach are examined with respect to feasibility and cost. Ten sources of sand were compared, including commercial, from Australia, Maui, and Barbers Point (3), deposits offshore of the Reef Runway (3), offshore of Waikiki (3), and offshore of Molokai from the Penguin Bank (1).

Jan 1, 1991

By Robert Heydon

With the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development fast approaching it is timely to reflect on the integral role seafloor polymetallic nodule mining will play in facilitating sustainable development and alleviating global poverty. Polymetallic nodule mining presents mankind with a unique opportunity to advance the world?s sustainable development aspirations, particularly given the ultimate beneficiaries from polymetallic nodule mining will be the billions of people around the world that require greater access to more affordable minerals for their social and economic development. This paper discusses the importance of polymetallic nodule mining in the context of sustainable development and forecasted growth trends, supply and demand dynamics, the decreasing grade and quality of terrestrial mineral resources, and the Green Economy, as well as in light of a comparative analysis that demonstrates polymetallic nodule mining offers a socially and environmentally advantageous alternative to terrestrial mining.

Jan 1, 2011

By Valery M. Yubko

During the last ten years seven applications for nodule-bearing areas of the World Ocean Floor International Region (IR) have been made by national companies of Russia (Yuzhmorgeologiya), France (IFREMER/AFERNOD), Japan (DORD), India (The State Department of Sea Resources Development), China (COMRA), Korea (KORDI) and the Interokeanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) of some East European countries and have been registered by the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations International Seabed Authority (ISA). Besides these groups registered within Resolution 11 of the Final Act of the III United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea there are four international consortia registered in the USA [Kennecott (KCON), Ocean Mining Associates (DMA), Ocean Management Incorporated (OMI), and Ocean Minerals Company (OMCO)], which have interest in areas in the IR and can be considered as potential applicants. All registered areas (with the exception of the Indian Ocean) including the areas of potential applicants and also 6 areas, reserved for the ISA are located in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean. If within each area not less than one deposit of polymetallic nodule-bearing ores can be discovered, then, the total number of such deposits, for the present moment, is 20.

Jan 1, 1994

By A. A. Schipaanboord, S. J. Dasselaar

"With the growing global demand for strategic metals, commodity prices are rising and the scarcity of some metals is increasing. Europe’s technology sector is also affected by this growing shortage of metals. Securing the supply of critical metals is now a major element in Europe’s economic strategy. The Blue Mining and Blue Nodules projects have been initiated to principally advance deep sea mining technology beyond current TRL-levels.These critical metals are found inside so-called “polymetallic nodules”, lying on the seafloor in deep-sea environment. These nodules have a typical abundance of 10-25 kg/m2 and a size range of 10-125 mm.Harvesting the polymetallic nodules is challenging. Two main methods of harvesting or collector equipment are distinguished: hydraulic and mechanical. Over the last year, Royal IHC has designed, build and tested a full-scale hydraulic collector. Meanwhile, a mechanical collector is being developed.First, a scaled version of the hydraulic collector was developed and tested in order to have a proof of principle. The development as well as optimization were aided by multiphase CFD simulations."

Jan 1, 2017

By Tetsuo Yamazaki

The Kuroko-type seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) in the western Pacific have received much attention as sources for economic recovery of gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb). Since the end of the 1980s, the Kuroko-type SMS have been found in the back-arc basins and on oceanic island-arc areas. In Okinawa Trough (Halbach et al., 1989) and on the Izu-Ogasawara Arc (Iizasa et al., 1999) are the typical representatives in the Japan’s EEZ. They yield a higher concentration in Au and Ag than the SMS found in ocean ridge areas (Rona, 1985). Similar formation processes with the Kuroko ore deposits on-land in Japan have been expected and outlined by many researchers (Sillitoe, 1982; Scott, 1985). The higher Au and Ag contents have increased the chances for profitable mining operation, which is under consideration by a private company (Malnic, 2001). Information about the resource potential of the targeted Kuroko-type SMS deposit, such as the amount of SMS ore body, the inside structure, the mean metal yields, and the geographical details are necessary for a technical and economic validation analysis for the development. The Sunrise Deposit of Myojin Knoll on Izu-Ogasawara Arc in the Japan’s EEZ is selected as a target for the technical and economic validation analysis. The relatively higher amount of information on its resource potential is the reason why the deposit is selected.

Sep 24, 2006

By Peter B. Hale

Canada has a long history of marine-related industry and onshore mining. Even so, commercial interest in marine mining, excluding seawater mineral extraction and offshore extensions of hardrock deposits such as iron and coal, has been sporadic; despite the fact that shelf mineral deposits supply a significant proportion of the national market requirements for many countries. Several factors have accounted for this including: a relative abundance of onland mineral desposits; the fact that onland deposits can be mined using conventional technology; and, a general lack of knowledge and public awareness as to Canadian offshore non-fuel mineral resource potential. In the mid-1970s the Department of Energy, Mines & Resources formed the Departmental Coordinating Committee on Ocean Mining. The Committee addressed the question of shelf non-fuel mineral resource potential and concluded that, while several reports had raised the possibilty of this alternative source, there had not been a systematic evaluation of the resource base. This led to the formation of a Shelf Working Group, whose task it was to outline and implement a departmental program to advance our knowledge of shelf resource potential. A methodology was devised that utilized existing geoscientific and hydrographic

Jan 1, 1985

By Paul Kennedy, Daniel R. McConnell, Ruth Price

"The underwater search for the passenger aircraft MH 370 produced rare high resolution datasets of the ocean floor of extraordinary size and detail. The survey design and operations were for sole purpose of finding the aircraft debris field. The aircraft was not found in the detailed search area and the survey was suspended. As planned, the data are now being made available to scientists and researchers. The large survey area includes geologic settings that might be prospective for seafloor minerals. A review of the data can provide insights to seafloor mineral prospectivity in the Southern Indian Ocean and is a large dataset that can be used to calibrate object detection for the design of dedicated mineral exploration surveys.Economic minerals in the Southern Indian OceanOceanographic research and scientific drilling cruises have assembled geologic and geophysical data points in the Southern Indian Ocean. These, together with satellite derived bathymetry and gravimetric data, earthquake mapping, and mapping of magnetic anomalies have, even if they lack detail, produced a general understanding of the main tectonic features and plate movements in the Southern Indian Ocean as well as contributed some marine mineral data.The Southeast Indian Ocean Manganese Pavement, a large manganese nodule field south of Diamantina Fracture Zone was discovered in 1970. Dredging and photographic data from the discovery cruise determined that dense nodule accumulations cover 900,000 sq. km."

Jan 1, 2017

By J. M. (Mac) Beggs

With New Zealand?s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996, the government of the day increased work on developing an oceans strategy to help create a governance framework for the country?s extensive existing and potential maritime territories. This project took a new direction in 2001 with the establishment of an ad hoc committee of 6 Ministers, and their appointment of a Ministerial Advisory Committee (on which the senior author served) to consult with the public, identify widely held values and inform the development of a Vision for subsequent policy development. The current second stage of the policy development process involves a working group of officials from the relevant agencies completing a stock-take of existing laws and regulations to identify overlaps and gaps that should be addressed in the third and final stage. The public consultation process revealed, as might be expected, a wide range of perspectives but a solid consensus in favour of a coherent, and balanced, framework to enable the realization of economic benefits of ocean development so long as appropriate environmental standards (broadly expressed in terms of sustainability) are not compromised.

Jan 1, 2002

By Hyung-woo Kim

This paper concerns about steering characteristics of pilot mining robot, named MineRo II, crawling on extremely cohesive soft soil using dynamic simulation software. The MineRo-II for deep-seabed manganese nodules, which aims at the use for pilot mining test, was manufactured in 1/5 scale of commercial mining capacity (see Fig. 1).

Sep 14, 2011

By Elizabeth McIsaac, Wylie Spicer

"In July 2016 the International Seabed Authority (the “ISA”) released a first working draft of its mineral exploitation regulations as well as the standard contract terms for mineral resources in the Area, for which stakeholder input was sought in late 2016. In January of 2017 the ISA released a discussion paper on environmental matters related to these draft regulations. The ISA is now in the process of further developing its draft exploitation regulations and standard contract terms to ensure that seabed mining is carried out in an environmentally sound way for the common benefit of mankind.As the regulator of the “Area”, the ISA can draw lessons from onshore mining regulators and offshore petroleum regulators for their experiences in legislative drafting to smoothly and safely oversee project development, implementation, and closure. However, one of the unique challenges that the ISA faces in regulating private industry is its status as an international organization and not a sovereign nation, which results in a significantly different legal relationship between the regulator and the regulated. The result is that the exploitation contract is the sole legal connection between the mining proponent and the regulator for the exploitation phrase of the project.Accordingly, in the regulatory development process, the ISA must carefully consider which rights and obligations are set out in the exploitation contract versus the regulations. This decision will dictate the flexibility the ISA will have to modernize the conduct required of mining proponents in response to changing best practices in the industry, technological progress, and advances in the understanding of the marine ecosystem. As the first working draft of the exploitation regulations sets out an initial contract period of twenty years, it is crucial for the ISA to carefully consider the rights, obligations, and procedures it agrees to in the exploitation contract, as unilateral amendment will not be possible after contract execution."

Jan 1, 2017

By Alexander Malahoff

An international research team working through the Hawai?i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) undertook a bold challenge to explore the chemistry, geology, mineral formation and superheated hydrothermal vents of the Kermadec Island Arc. With the mothership, R/V Ka?imikai-o-Kanaloa, scientists from six research institutions explored the active submarine volcanoes stretching over a line of volcanoes 1,000 miles long between Samoa and New Zealand. The expedition left Hawaii on the 18th of March 2005 and returned on the 5th of August having covered a distance of 10,000 miles between Hawaii and New Zealand. Scientists from the USA, New Zealand and Germany used the HURL submersibles, Pisces IV and Pisces V, as well as the remotely-operated vehicle RCV-150, aboard the R/V Ka?imikai-o-Kanaloa to dive into active volcanoes to water depths of 2,000 meters. Scientists from New Zealand, the USA and Germany conducted 41 dives on the previously unexplored (from manned submersibles) submarine volcanoes. Ten active volcanoes were explored during this time. Hundreds of specimens of new and unusual marine life, water chemistry, extremophile microorganisms, mineral formations and volcanic rocks were collected during this expedition with the two submersibles and the ROV. Bizarre natural events, such as the oozing of hot liquid sulfur from the ocean floor onto the skids of the submersible were observed. Carbon dioxide gas was observed profusely streaming into the seawater from the volcanoes, making these one of the greatest contributions to hot house gasses entering the atmosphere.

Jan 1, 2005

By G. Cherkashov

The geodiversity of seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) deposits at the slow- and ultra-slow spreading ridges is of great variety (Fouquet et al., 2010). Tectonics and magmatism are the two principal factors which control SMS formation and localization. The geological setting of SMS deposits is determined by their position relative to the rift valley and by the types of rocks hosted (Table 1). Depending on the first parameter, SMS deposits could be localized at [ ] the axial volcanic ridge or at the flank of the rift valley. Basalts, deep-seated gabbro, and serpentinized peridotites are distinguished among the hosted rocks. The outcrops of deep-seated rocks are exposed at the flanks of the rift valley. The tectonic mechanism of the lower crust and mantle rocks exhumation process is connected with very large offsets along the detachment faults, resulting in a forming oceanic core complex (OCC) (Smith et al., 2006; MacLeod et al., 2009). The SMS related to OCCs are represented by such ore clusters as Ashadze, Logatchev, Semyenov, and some others (Table 1) and are increasing steadily in number. This fact in combination with widespread OCC formation at the slow-spreading ridges (Escartin et al., 2008) and high grades of metals in SMS related to OCCs has provoked considerable scientific and economic interest in these types of deposits. It could be mentioned in this regard that the first two applications to the International Seabed Authority for prospecting and exploration of sulfides have been submitted for the areas in the spreading centres with wide distribution of the core complexes.

Jan 1, 2011

By W. D. Siapno

Marine mineral resources have been reviewed in great detail on numerous occasions over the past few years. A summary of these efforts would indicate there is little new on the horizon as far as economic programs are concerned. Deep ocean minerals, though not forgotten, hold little promise for development in the immediate future, i. e., manganese nodules, cobalt crusts, polymetallic sulfides, etc. Nearer to shore, within the EEZ, and particularly within waters under state control greater industrial interest is expressed. Interest in sand and gravel not only persists but is growing, dependent largely upon the construction industry. Precious metals demonstrate the greatest growth potential.

Jan 1, 1988

By Cameron Rees

The University of New South Wales Mining Research Centre (UMRC) has a longstanding research reputation in mining research, with particular expertise in mining systems, mining geomechanics and excavation engineering. The UMRC is now focusing this expertise on the potential of mining Seafloor Massive Sulphides (SMS). The UMRC has initiated a three-year research project that will identify and examine the requirements to effectively and efficiently mine SMS deposits. The major aims of this project are: ? To develop an understanding of the geomechanical characteristics and local physical environmental conditions associated with a ?typical? SMS deposit. ? To develop and evaluate a range of both conventional and innovative excavation processes for mining SMS deposits, and define the engineering parameters required for each extraction option, and ? To identify the materials handling and lifting requirements of the ?mined? SMS material, and the possible integration of the lifting system with the excavation processes considered.

Jan 1, 2002

By Cornel E. J. de Ronde

Volcanic arcs, including both island arc and intra-oceanic arc systems, combined extend for ~22,000 km around the Earth, with the majority (~20,000 km) occurring in the Pacific basin. These arcs are host to over 700 volcanoes of which ~200 are submarine and as such represent great potential for hosting massive sulfide deposits formed at seafloor hydrothermal vent sites. The Kermadec arc extends for ~1,200 km northeastwards from the North Island of New Zealand and forms the southern part of the ~2,500-km-long Tonga-Kermadec intra-oceanic arc system. At least 94 volcanoes are known to exist along this system with 74, or about 80%, being submarine. At least 33 volcanoes occur along the Kermadec part of the arc with all but one (Raoul Island) being submarine. The first sulphides recovered from the entire Tonga-Kermadec arc were in 1996 from the Brothers and Rumble II West volcanoes of the southern Kermadec arc. The 1998 R/V Sonne research cruise recovered a more comprehensive suite of mineralised samples from Brothers, and also found evidence for hydrothermal venting at Monowai, Vulkanolog, Rumble III and Clark volcanoes. The March 1999 NZAPLUME cruise systematically surveyed 260 km of the southern Kermadec arc and found that 7 of 13 volcanoes were hydrothermally active, with the vent fields either located within calderas (e.g., Brothers, Healy, Rumble II West) or atop volcanic cones (e.g., Clark, Tangaroa, Rumble V, Rumble III). The May 2002 NZAPLUME II cruise surveyed a further ~580 km of the mid-segment of the Kermadec arc, from Brothers to volcano 'L', a submarine volcanic edifice 35 km NW of Macauley Island. This cruise surveyed 13 major volcanoes and 8 smaller volcanic edifices and confirmed hydrothermal venting at the Vulkanolog site, and discovered new vent fields atop a volcanic cone within Macauley caldera, immediately offshore Macauley Island, and another at the summit of volcano 'L'. A further new site was found atop a volcanic knoll immediately S of Healy caldera during time-series sampling of the vent sites found during the 1999 cruise. All the vent sites discovered along the Kermadec arc occur in water depths between 1650 and 150 m.

Jan 1, 2002