Deepwater mining
Description
In recent years, the availability of raw materials, in particular (earth) metals and minerals, has become an increasing economic and political focus on the world stage. In particular, the sharply increasing demand from emerging economies and the development of new applications in 'high-'-tech equipment, for an ever-growing public, are leading the way.
Much of the focus is on the development of new mining areas on land, but the extraction of ores/minerals from the seabed is also increasingly coming into view as a potentially possible solution to better match supply and demand. Papua New Guinea recently, in January 2011, granted a first deep-sea mining concession for Nautulus Minerals' 'Solwara 1' project in the Bismarck Sea for an area of 53 km2, at a depth of 1,600 metres. The technology has developed from the 1970s ('manganese nodules'), and is now 'ripe' for larger-scale technical/commercial applications. It often involves rich poly-metallic sulphide deposits ('black smokers'), with much higher concentrations of metals than on land.
And Japanese researchers have reported on extensive deep-sea 'mud' deposits in the Pacific via a publication on 3 July last in 'Nature Geoscience':'we suggest that deep-sea mud constitutes a highly promising huge resource for these [rare] elements'.
In addition to the 'hard' technique of extraction, the geological genesis of the various deposits is relevant, as well as a good assessment of the environmental effects and possible mitigating measures that play an important role in deep-sea mining.
The board of KIVI NIRIA's Mining Department would like to welcome you to this meeting!
19:00 Reception with coffee/tea
19:30 Lecture by Mr J. Voncken, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CITG), Department of Geotechnology, TU Delft:
'Geological processes behind deep-sea occurrences'
20:00 Lecture by Mr R. Lotman, manager R&D, IHC Deep Sea Dredging & Mining:
'Technical challenges and solutions for deep-sea mining'
20:30 Lecture by Prof. G.J. Brummer, Department of Marine Geology, NIOZ (Netherlands Institute for Sea Research):
'Ecological effects and deep-sea mining'
21:00 Questions/panel discussion
21:15 Drinks and after-dinner discussion
Location
Prinsessegracht 23, 2514 AP The Hague
Organiser
Mining
Mining Association
Name and contact details for information
Duco Drenth