Full page fax print - International Seabed Authority

ferromanganese crust mining is currently relatively low, new technical developments of
mining equipment such as advanced trench cutters have not taken place. This is also true
for metallurgical processing which needs to focus on the efficient recovery not only of the
cobalt but also of the platinum, which has been a major problem in the past.
8. CONCLUSIONS
First order technical requirements for polymetallic massive sulphide exploration
include portable drilling and coring devices to be operated from ships-of-opportunity.
These systems need to be capable of drilling several tens of meters into the seafloor with
more than 50% core recovery. For mining of massive sulphides at and just below the
seafloor, continuously operating devices with large-scale cutter heads in combination
with airlift or hydraulic pumps need to be developed. Exploration tools for cobaltbearing
ferromanganese crusts such as deep-towed cameras, side-scan sonar, and TVguided
grabs are available. The problem of the efficient separation of the crusts from the
substrate rock by suitable mining tools (hydrojet, rollers) has not been resolved and
needs further consideration.
9. REFERENCES
1. J. Francheteau, H.D. Needham, P. Choukroune, T. Juteau, M. Seguret, R.D. Ballard,
P.J. Fox, W. Normark, A. Carranza, D. Cordoba, J. Guerrero, C. Rangin, H.
Bougault, P. Cambon, and R. Hekinian (1979), Massive deep-sea sulphide ore
deposits discovered on the East Pacific Rise. Nature, 277, 523-528.
2. J.R. Hein, A. Koschinsky, M. Bau, F.T. Manheim, J.-K. Kang, and L. Roberts (2000)
Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the Pacific. In: Handbook of Marine Mineral
Deposits, D.S. Cronan (ed), 239-279.
3. S. Sarata and K. Matsumoto (1999), Deep-sea core boring BMS in Northern Mariana
Area. Proceedings of the 3 rd ISOPE, Goa, India, 49-54.
4. P.M. Herzig, S.E. Humphris, D.J. Miller, and R.A. Zierenberg, R.A. (eds) (1998),
Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Volume 158: College
Station, TX.
5. M.D. Hannington, A.G. Galley, , P.M. Herzig, and S. Petersen (1998), Comparison
of the TAG mound and stockwork complex with Cyprus-type massive sulphide
deposits, In: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, P.M: Herzig,
S.E. Humphris, D.J. Miller, and R.A. Zierenberg (eds),158: 389-415.
6. A. Crawford, S. Hollingshead, and S.D. Scott (1984), Geotechnical engineering
properties of deep-ocean polymetallic sulphides from 21°N, East Pacific Rise.
Marine Mining, 4, 337-354.
International Seabed Authority 99