Deep Ocean Mining

Has the time come for this? Exploration, technology, resources,

spin-offs.

Target – VMS ore deposits

• VMS – volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits (metal sulfide deposits)– Copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver – By-products include cobalt, sulfur, manganese, barium, tin,

cadmium, indium, tellurium• Basically anything that dissolves in molten sulfur

• Formed by volcanic openings in ocean floor– Superheated water + sulfur borne metals wells out forming a

cone (black smokers / fumeroles)– Deposits the above metals– Very hot highly acidic local conditions while active

• Hard to find when dormant

Black smoker schematic

An old idea

• Explored a lot in 70s timeframe– Many studies, papers and equipment/process inventions

• More or less considered uneconomical then– Lower resource prices– Lower tech– Missing inventions

• Maganese modules were mined in 70s and 80s– Rich in nickel and copper covering larger areas– Ultimately aborted as too expensive at the time

• Drop in metal prices at time combined with energy cost spike

• Easier to mine through 2000 m of water than of earth and stone

Environmental aspects• Concern for the unique and possibly quite useful life extremophile life

forms– Some of the mineralization may be caused or aided by some of the micro-

organisms present• Overall impact is likely significantly less than land based mining

– No acid drainage• But care with acidic water cycling is required

– No waste-rock piles– No permanent structures

• Other worries– Sediment plumes

• Especially serious near surface

– Near surface acidity increase• Though surface water is highly alkaline so that would take a LOT of pumping without

return

Resource shortages

• Copper– High demand– Some loss production, little new major sources– Very tight supply, booming prices– Expensive enough to be commonly stolen– Fairly long lag for new equipment, permits,

infrastructure – Asian increased demand is tightening supply of

copper and many other resources

Raw Material Shortages..

• 14 critical supply raw materials– Antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluospar, gallium,

germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, niobium..

– Platinum group• Platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium..

– Rare earths• Yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lathanides, tantalum,

tungsten

Afghanistan to the rescue?

• Over $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits– Now you know another reason US is pounding dirt there

• Huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, lithium, niobium– “Saudi Arabia of lithium” - pentagon

• Country could become one of the most important mining centers in the world– The Soviets figured this out back in the 80s..

• China may seek more control of this area• Starting from nearly nothing it will take decades to

develop these resources

Deep ocean mining

Deposits extracted by 100 ton machines– Mostly developed for deep sea oil work– Mix of water and material brought to surface ship

• Water is very acidic – separated and pumped back down

• Single deposit could weigh in at 100 million tons• Most of the deep sea vents are in international

waters– Some UN treaty may be limiting factor

• 1982 Law of the Sea treaty• US hasn’t signed yet and is a bit blocked by international law

Solwara 1 Project

• Nautilus company• After gold and copper

– $70 per ton production cost– $1000 per ton value

• $383 million in equipment (funded)• 30 month build schedule to 1.2 million tons/year• Expected first ore at end of 2012.• Depth: 1600 meters • Samples contained copper and gold concentrations

several times higher than typical in mines on land

Solwari 1

Seafloor Mining Process Flow