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Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules due to their high manganese content, are blackish-brown, irregularly to roundly formed concretions with diameters of about 1 to 6 cm. They occur in deep sea areas where sedimentation rates are low, and form due to the precipitation of Mn- and Fe-oxides as well as numerous other major and trace metals from sea water and the pore waters of the sediment. Growth rates are extremely low, with values varying between about 2 and 100 mm/Ma. The largest and most important deposits are found in the NE Pacific (in the so-called manganese nodule belt between the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones), where commonly about 50% of the sediment surface is covered by manganese nodules. Economically relevant metals contained in the nodules are copper, nickel and cobalt, which together form up to 3 weight percent of the nodules and are, for example, required by the electro- and steel industry, amongst others.

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY SEPT 2013 - DEEP SEA MINING BILL

Britain should be at the forefront of exploiting deep sea resources and make the most of seabed mining's "enormous potential", a Conservative MP in Corwnall has said.

Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) is quoted as saying that scientists know materials that can be used in low-carbon technology, telecoms applications and other new technologies are on the surface of the seabed at great depths.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt is quoted as saying that the government gave its support to Murray’s Bill saying mining companies were already lining up for licences to mine for "potato-sized" polymetallic nodules, which could be exploited for a wide-range of minerals that can be used in telecoms technologies, as well as in the energy sector.

One UK company has already been awarded a licence – one of 13 to be handed out by the International Seabed Authority for exploration in the north Pacific and Indian Oceans, MPs heard.

But Burt said it was important there was proper regulation of the emerging industry as he told the House of Commons that the government would support Murray’s Bill calling for greater regulations.

With the support of ministers, the Bill is likely to become law. It received an unopposed second reading and will now go to a committee for further scrutiny.

Murray, moving her Private Member's Bill which proposes amendments to the Deep Sea Mining (Temporary Provisions) Act 1981, told MPs: "The concept of deep sea mining is not new. But as we make technological advances, this new industry is fast becoming a reality and I am keen that Britain is at the forefront of this industry.

"Everybody will know my interest in the sea and the marine environment and nobody is more aware than me about the potential that the deep sea has in contributing to the great expertise this country is world-renowned for.

"The United Kingdom is well-placed to benefit strategically, economically and in employment terms, and to influence how deep sea mining is actually taken forward."

Murray said there is the potential in the next five years to look at exploitation of the deep sea resources and she believes it is important for the environment that the UK can control licence applications.

The MP said one of the important amendments she is seeking is to widen the scope of minerals for which licences can be granted.

She said: "The 1981 Act is limited to one type; polymetallic nodules. The Bill widens the definition to all mineral resources. In recent years there has been a growing interest in polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts.

"There are no agreed international regulations with the exploration of these other mineral types. In the future, other different mineral types may be discovered or may become commercially viable for deep sea mining.

"UK-registered firms should be able to take part in exploration and possible exploitation of these resources as much as companies from any other state.

"Seabed mining has enormous potential. Scientists know that lying on the surface of the seabed at great depths are a valuable new source of nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese... and rare earth elements in the form of polymetallic nodules.

"The metals are vital to new materials technology. Nickel is used in superalloys, cobalt and manganese in energy storage technology and rare earth elements – strategically very important – are used in low-carbon technology, lasers, superconductors and many telecoms applications."

Murray said deep sea mining would not directly affect the UK because it would take place at least 200 nautical miles out to sea.

She added: "Deep sea mining is not fracking and that's important to emphasize. Neither does it involve many of the techniques associated with land-based mining. Specifically, deep sea mining for polymetallic nodules does not involve excavating any rubble, it does not involve the use of explosives.

"The nodules lie on the seabed, or partially embedded in sediments on the seabed. Techniques to mine these nodules are likely to involve scooping or vacuuming the nodules from the seabed.

"Mining for polymetallic nodules could be a lot less environmentally damaging than land-based mining for the same minerals."

DEEP SEA MINING

Deep sea mining is a relatively new mineral retrieval process that takes place on the ocean floor. Ocean mining sites are usually around large areas of polymetallic nodules or active and extinct hydrothermal vents at about 1,400 - 3,700 m below the ocean’s surface. The vents create sulfide 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. As with all mining operations, deep sea mining raises questions about potential environmental impact on surrounding areas. Environmental advocacy groups such as Greenpeace have argued that seabed mining should not be permitted in most of the world's oceans because of the potential for damage to deepsea ecosystems.

HISTORY

In the mid 1960s the prospect of deep-sea mining was brought up by the publication of J. L. Mero's Mineral Resources of the Sea. The book claimed that nearly limitless supplies of cobalt, nickel and other metals could be found throughout the planet's oceans. Mero stated that these metals occurred in deposits of manganese nodules, which appear as lumps of compressed sediment on the sea floor at depths of about 5,000 m. Some nations including France, Germany and the United States sent out research vessels in search of nodule deposits. Initial estimates of deep sea mining viability turned out to be much exaggerated. This overestimate, coupled with depressed metal prices, led to the near abandonment of nodule mining by 1982. From the 1960s to 1984 an estimated US $650 million had been spent on the venture, with little to no return.

Over the past decade a new phase of deep-sea mining has begun. Rising demand for precious metals in Japan, China, Korea and India has pushed these countries in search of new sources. Interest has recently shifted toward hydrothermal vents as the source of metals instead of scattered nodules. The trend of transition towards an electricity based information and transportation infrastructure currently seen in western societies further pushes demands for precious metals. The current revived interest in phosphorus nodule mining at the seafloor stems from phosphor-based artificial fertilizers being of significant importance for world food production. Growing world population pushes the need for artificial fertilizers or greater incorporation of organic systems within agricultural infrastructure.

Currently, the best potential deep sea site, the Solwara 1 Project, has been found in the waters off Papua New Guinea, a high grade copper-gold resource and the world's first Seafloor Massive Sulphide (SMS) resource. The Solwara 1 Project is located at 1600 metres water depth in the Bismarck Sea, New Ireland Province. Using ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicles) technology, Nautilus Minerals Inc. is first company of its kind to announce plans to begin full-scale undersea excavation of mineral deposits. However a dispute with the government of Papua-New Guinea has delayed production from its expected start in early 2013.

LAW & REGULATION

The international law based regulations on deep sea mining are contained in the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea from 1973 to 1982, which came into force in 1994. The convention set up the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which regulates nations’ deep sea mining ventures outside each nations’ Exclusive Economic Zone (a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) area surrounding coastal nations). The ISA requires nations interested in mining to explore two equal mining sites and turn one over to the ISA, along with a transfer of mining technology over a 10 to 20 year period. This seemed reasonable at the time because it was widely believed that nodule mining would be extremely profitable. However, these strict requirements led some industrialized countries to refuse to sign the initial treaty in 1982.

MINERAL RESOURCES

The deep sea contains many different resources available for extraction, including silver, gold, copper, manganese, cobalt, and zinc. These raw materials are found in various forms on the sea floor, usually in higher concentrations than terrestrial mines.

EXTRACTION METHODS

Recent technological advancements have given rise to 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) and the hydraulic suction system. The CLB system is the preferred method of nodule collection. It operates much like a conveyor-belt, running 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. Hydraulic suction mining lowers a pipe to the seafloor which transfers nodules up to the mining ship. Another pipe from the ship to the seafloor returns the tailings to the area of the mining site.

In recent years, the most promising mining areas have been the Central and Eastern Manus Basin around Papua New Guinea and the crater of Conical Seamount to the east. These locations have shown promising amounts of gold in the area's sulfide deposits (an average of 26 parts per million). The relatively shallow water depth of 1050 m, along with the close proximity of a gold processing plant makes for an excellent mining site.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Because deep sea mining is a relatively new field, the complete consequences of full scale mining operations are unknown. However, some researchers have said they believe that removal of parts of the sea floor will result in disturbances to the benthic layer, increased toxicity of the water column and sediment plumes from tailings. Removing parts of the sea floor could disturb the habitat of benthic organisms, with unknown long-term effects. Aside from the direct impact of mining the area, some researchers and environmental activists have raised concerns about leakage, spills and corrosion that could alter the mining area’s chemical makeup.

Among the impacts of deep sea mining, sediment plumes could have the greatest impact. Plumes are caused when the tailings from mining (usually fine particles) are dumped back into the ocean, creating a cloud of particles floating in the water. Two types of plumes occur: near bottom plumes and surface plumes. Near bottom plumes occur when the tailings are pumped back down to the mining site. The floating particles increase the turbidity, or cloudiness, of the water, clogging filter-feeding apparatuses used by benthic organisms. Surface plumes cause a more serious problem. Depending on the size of the particles and water currents the plumes could spread over vast areas. The plumes could impact zooplankton and light penetration, in turn affecting the food web of the area.

NAUTILUS PROJECTS 2013-14

The Nautilus Minerals Corporation was in talks with the government of Papua New Guinea, attempting to setup and start a deep sea mining project.  They were to use existing technologies from the offshore oil & gas, dredging and mining industries. Nautilus had planned to extract high grade Seafloor Massive Sulphide ("SMS") systems on a commercial scale. 

The company has worked over the past number of years on the building of the Seafloor Production System. On November 13, 2012, Nautilus announced that Management and the Board of Directors of Nautilus had decided to terminate construction of its Seafloor Production System for the financial preservation of the company. This was as a result of a dispute with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea over costs that Nautilus says the government is obliged to meet for the project.

To date an agreed commercial resolution with the State has not been achieved and Nautilus believes the avenues for achieving such a resolution within the timeframe that Nautilus could reasonably continue to carry the total development costs for the Project have now been exhausted. This resulted in the termination of the construction of the Seafloor Production System.

Nautilus plans to grow its tenement holdings in the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Zealand as well as other areas outside the Western Pacific.

NAUTILUS STOCKS & SHARES

Nautilus is listed on the Toronto (TSX), and OTCQX (NUSMF) exchanges. Nautilus is said to have among its cornerstone shareholders, three of the world's largest resource companies, which, with its alliances and technical partnerships, places it as the world leader in deep water exploration and the associated mining of minerals systems.

OTCQX: OTCQX - US $

NAUTILUS CONTACTS

LINKS & REFERENCE

http://www.cares.nautilusminerals.com/

Nautilus Minerals Cares about the enviroment

http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Projects-Solwara.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_sea_mining

http://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/MarineRohstoffforschung/Tiefseebergbau/tiefseebergbau_node_en.html

http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2013/sep/deep-sea-mining.cfm

http://the-cumberland-a-guoman-hotel-london-england.cote-dazur-hotels.com/

http://www.cumberlandhotel.co.uk/

http://deepsea-mining-summit.com/

http://www.oceancouncil.org/

http://www.marine-data.co.uk/

PATENT PENDING - The Bluebird ZCC prototype concept is ideal for use as a high capacity energy-autonomous vessel, particularly for blue water deep sea surveys or support where endurance is a requirement. It can be equipped with an ROV launch and recovery system - that because the launch/recovery bay is submerged at all times makes recovery several times more effective than surface recovery systems the subject of physical wave and sensor aeration alignment difficulties, that so often hamper operations. With no requirement to refuel with diesel every so many thousand miles, the operational range is limited only to the humans on board, though drone and robotic operation is an option where the law allows. This vessel is COLREGs compliant, so may be operated in international waters. Such a vessel is thought to be a considerable asset to any exploration company in the long term.