Deep-Sea Nodules and Co-rich Mn Crusts

The mining of deep-sea manganese nodules has been a topic of interest since J.L. Mero undertook his preliminary studies in the 1960s to evaluate the prospects for mining deep-sea nodules. Despite the great deal of investment in deep-sea mining over more than 40 years, there has still been no successful attempt to mine the deep-sea nodules on a commercial scale. One of the major problems is that the nodules cannot be brought to the surface with the necessary amounts of recoverable nickel, cobalt and zinc to warrant the initial high investment necessary for this operation. It therefore appears that in the short term, deep-sea manganese and Co-rich Mn crusts will not be mined on a commercial scale in the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, investigations of deep-sea mineral deposits by a number of nations will continue and enable us to understand the deep-sea environment in increasing detail, which is necessary in view of the great extent of the deep oceans which cover an area of about 66% of the Earth's surface.     

Environment and Deep-Sea Mining: A Perspective

As the quest for deep-sea mineral resources is gaining momentum, environment and ocean mining have become important aspects of study. Because many of these deposits occur in international waters, the concern for environmental conservation in view of the effects of deep-sea mining is resulting in these effects being studied in different oceans, and efforts to develop regulations governing this exploitation are also underway at national and international levels. The impact assessment of deep-sea mining needs to encompass a variety of subjects, including environmental, socioeconomic, technological, and legal aspects. At the same time, effects of in situ environmental conditions on mining activities also need to be considered for effecient performance by the mining system. Differences in the degree of impact have been noticed during the mining simulation experiments by different investigating agencies. Therefore, interparameter comparisons, standardization of methods, and improvement in mining design are important considerations for proper utilization of resources, conservation of environment, and cost efficiency of the mining operations.     

Patterns of Gene Expression Variation across Body Parts of the Hydrothermal Vent Shrimp Nautilocaris saintlaurentae

Ocean Science Journal - Since deep-sea hydrothermal vents have been targeted for mining mineral resources, concerns about the potential impacts of mining on vent ecosystems have gradually...     

Environment and Deep-Sea Mining: A Perspective

Abstract

As the quest for deep-sea mineral resources is gaining momentum, environment and ocean mining have become important aspects of study. Because many of these deposits occur in international waters, the concern for environmental conservation in view of the effects of deep-sea mining is resulting in these effects being studied in different oceans, and efforts to develop regulations governing this exploitation are also underway at national and international levels. The impact assessment of deep-sea mining needs to encompass a variety of subjects, including environmental, socioeconomic, technological, and legal aspects. At the same time, effects of in situ environmental conditions on mining activities also need to be considered for effecient performance by the mining system. Differences in the degree of impact have been noticed during the mining simulation experiments by different investigating agencies. Therefore, interparameter comparisons, standardization of methods, and improvement in mining design are important considerations for proper utilization of resources, conservation of environment, and cost efficiency of the mining operations.     

含月池和输运管的深海采矿船水动力特性研究

深海采矿船是未来人类获取深海矿产资源的重要装备,研究其水动力特性具有重要意义。月池和输运管是影响深海采矿船水动力特性的重要因素。以世界上第一艘超深水采矿船“鹦鹉螺新纪元”号为研究对象,基于三维势流理论,分析月池尺寸、输运管长度及内径对采矿船水运动特性的影响。结果表明：月池开口会使采矿船垂荡、纵荡和纵摇运动出现共振峰,峰值随着开口尺寸的增加而增大,其中垂荡运动峰值可增加将近2倍;输运管的存在会明显改变采矿船横摇运动固有周期,增大垂荡运动峰值,降低横摇运动峰值,对横荡和纵荡运动的影响亦较大,当输运管长度为 5 000 m,内径为0.480 5 m时,横荡和纵荡响应峰值能够达到无输运管时的3倍以上。通过探究月池开孔和输运管不同参数对采矿船运动的影响,为深海采矿船月池和输运管设计提供一定的借鉴和参考。     

Deep Seabed Mining: Past Failures and Future Prospects

The first attempt to exploit deep-sea manganese nodules ended in failure as a result of the collapse of world metal prices, the onerous provisions imposed by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the overoptimistic assumptions about the viability of nodule mining. Attention then focused on Co-rich manganese crusts from seamounts. Since the mid-1980s, a number of new players have committed themselves to long-term programs to establish the viability of mining deep-sea manganese nodules. These programs require heavy subsidy by the host governments. Au-rich submarine hydrothermal deposits located at convergent plate margins are now emerging as a more promising prospect for mining than deep-sea manganese deposits.     

Optimization design of bionic grousers for the crawled mineral collector based on the deep-sea sediment

Abstract

Due to the low shear strength of deep-sea sediment, crawled mineral collector is easily slips in the deep-sea mining process, therefore, high-traction bionic grouser is needed to be studied to improve the working efficiency. Based on the rate-dependent characteristics of deep-sea sediment, a rate-dependent extended Drucker-Prager material constitutive model is used to define the deep-sea sediment. The Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler finite element (LEA-FE) was used to simulate the cutting process of different bionic grousers at different speeds. By comparing the simulation of different grousers, it was found that the maximum traction of grouser is related to the grouser parameters (distance L from the top to the curvature change point and curvature radius R). By analyzing the traction characteristics of different bionic grousers, the binary quadratic regression equation between maximum traction and bionic grouser parameters was established and the best bionic grouser parameters were obtained by the optimization algorithm. Based on the rate-dependent properties of deep-sea sediment, the traction characteristics at different speeds were analyzed and the relationship between maximum traction and speeds was established, the best bionic grouser walking speed was obtained, which can provide the theoretical basis for the crawled mineral collector.     

Gap size effect on the tribological characteristics of the roller for deep-sea mining robot

To design the deep-sea mining robot, it is essential to analyze the tribological characteristics of its roller. In this study, we introduced the dynamic simulation model to analyze the tribological characteristics of the roller for deep-sea mining robot, considering the temperature, viscosity, viscous damping force, and gap size between the inner and outer rib seals. Effective viscosity changes with gap size in micro/nanoscale while the effective viscosity is equal to the kinematic viscosity in macroscale. For the stable operation of the roller, the effective viscosity must be less than the critical viscosity. As the gap size decreases, the effective viscosity increases while the critical viscosity decreases. This study shows that the gap size between the inner and outer rib seals of roller is the most dominant factor in designing the roller for deep-sea mining robot to use at relatively low temperatures that are found in the deep-sea environments.     

Research on rotating speed’s influence on performance of Deep-Sea lifting motor pump based on DEM-CFD

Abstract

Metal minerals in deep sea are considered to be the most important mineral resources in the 21st century. With the development of science and technology, deep-sea mining has gained more and more attention, and the pipeline lifting method is the most promising for mining. It is particularly important to use the pump as a key component in the pipeline upgrading. In this paper, the DEM–CFD method is used to study the solid–liquid two-phase fluid flow in the Deep-Sea lifting motor pump. Data about the distribution of pressure on the suction surface and pressure surface as well as the distribution of particles in the pump under different rotation speed can be obtained. Tests verify the efficiency and head of the pump by numerical simulation. It provides a theoretical method for the study of solid–liquid two-phase fluid flow in deep-sea mining.     

Deep Seabed Mining: Past Failures and Future Prospects

The first attempt to exploit deep-sea manganese nodules ended in failure as a result of the collapse of world metal prices, the onerous provisions imposed by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the overoptimistic assumptions about the viability of nodule mining. Attention then focused on Co-rich manganese crusts from seamounts. Since the mid-1980s, a number of new players have committed themselves to long-term programs to establish the viability of mining deep-sea manganese nodules. These programs require heavy subsidy by the host governments. Au-rich submarine hydrothermal deposits located at convergent plate margins are now emerging as a more promising prospect for mining than deep-sea manganese deposits.     

自治水下机器人在深海采矿系统湖试中的应用

以大洋采矿前期的湖试为例,介绍了AUV在矿产资源调查和深海采矿中的应用。在深海采矿系统作业前期,利用AUV调查湖底的地形地貌、结核的分布与覆盖率,确定集矿机作业地点的大地坐标。在深海采矿系统作业后期,利用AUV调查集矿机在湖底的行走轨迹和压陷深度,估算回采率。     

深海采矿扬矿泵导叶区域粗颗粒通过特性试验研究

在深海采矿系统中,海底矿石必须经过扬矿泵才能提升到海面船上,但矿石粒径较粗,容易在泵体中形成堵塞,尤其是在扬矿泵导叶区域,因此,研究粗粒在导叶中的运动特性对于保障系统安全工作具有重要意义。针对深海矿物粒径较大的特点,设计并制作了具有宽流道的扬矿泵流道模型,安装于管道输送试验系统。利用高速摄像机对扬矿泵导叶内粗颗粒运动特性进行了记录,并对其运动轨迹、碰撞情况以及颗粒速度等信息进行了分析。结果表明:颗粒在通过导叶区域时,运动轨迹与水流流向基本一致;颗粒与导叶发生碰撞位置主要集中于导叶背面入口处、导叶压力面中部和导叶背面出口处;颗粒粒径越小,跟随性越好,碰撞次数越少。试验结果可为扬矿电泵设计提供参考。     

深海采矿潜在环境影响因素及监测技术体系研究

目前深海采矿潜在的生态环境影响引起来了广泛关注,文章针对工业化深海金属矿产资源开采潜在的环境影响监测评估需要,系统地总结了深海铁锰多金属结核、铁锰富钴结壳以多金属硫化物等主要深海资源的基本产状,分析了“物质迁移-羽流产生-声光电磁噪声-耗氧-有毒物质释放”等主流采矿工艺潜在的环境影响因素,基于深海采矿生态环境影响评估调查研究的技术需求,从实施深海采矿环境监测实验工程、建立深海重大装备系统、发展原位监测传感器等方面提出了深海采矿环境监测技术体系建设构架,以期为我国深海采矿生态环境监测保护技术发展提供借鉴。     

Sustainability of deep-sea fisheries

As coastal fisheries around the world have collapsed, industrial fishing has spread seaward and deeper in pursuit of the last economically attractive concentrations of fishable biomass. For a seafood-hungry world depending on the oceans' ecosystem services, it is crucial to know whether deep-sea fisheries can be sustainable.The deep sea is by far the largest but least productive part of the oceans, although in very limited places fish biomass can be very high. Most deep-sea fishes have life histories giving them far less population resilience/productivity than shallow-water fishes, and could be fished sustainably only at very low catch rates if population resilience were the sole consideration. But like old-growth trees and great whales, their biomass makes them tempting targets while their low productivity creates strong economic incentive to liquidate their populations rather than exploiting them sustainably (Clark's Law). Many deep-sea fisheries use bottom trawls, which often have high impacts on nontarget fishes (e.g., sharks) and invertebrates (e.g., corals), and can often proceed only because they receive massive government subsidies. The combination of very low target population productivity, nonselective fishing gear, economics that favor population liquidation and a very weak regulatory regime makes deep-sea fisheries unsustainable with very few exceptions. Rather, deep-sea fisheries more closely resemble mining operations that serially eliminate fishable populations and move on.Instead of mining fish from the least-suitable places on Earth, an ecologically and economically preferable strategy would be rebuilding and sustainably fishing resilient populations in the most suitable places, namely shallower and more productive marine ecosystems that are closer to markets.     

News from the seabed – Geological characteristics and resource potential of deep-sea mineral resources

Marine minerals such as manganese nodules, Co-rich ferromanganese crusts, and seafloor massive sulfides are commonly seen as possible future resources that could potentially add to the global raw materials supply. At present, a proper assessment of these resources is not possible due to a severe lack of information regarding their size, distribution, and composition. It is clear, however, that manganese nodules and Co-rich ferromanganese crusts are a vast resource and mining them could have a profound impact on global metal markets, whereas the global resource potential of seafloor massive sulfides appears to be small. These deep-sea mineral commodities are formed by very different geological processes resulting in deposits with distinctly different characteristics. The geological boundary conditions also determine the size of any future mining operations and the area that will be affected by mining. Similarly, the sizes of the most favorable areas that need to be explored for a global resource assessment are also dependent on the geological environment. Size reaches 38 million km² for manganese nodules, while those for Co-rich crusts (1.7 million km²) and massive sulfides (3.2 million km²) are much smaller. Moreover, different commodities are more abundant in some jurisdictions than in others. While only 19% of the favorable area for manganese nodules lies within the Exclusive Economic Zone of coastal states or is covered by proposals for the extension of the continental shelf, 42% of the favorable areas for massive sulfides and 54% for Co-rich crusts are located in EEZs.     

“海龙Ⅲ”号ROV系统深海试验与应用研究

深海水下机器人主要用于深远海地质、矿物资源和生物调查研究,以及海洋石油工程服务等水下综合作业,能够实现深海近底高精度、长时间的定点取样作业及其他精细化调查。结合国内外深海ROV装备和技术发展现状,以新研发的6 000 m级"海龙Ⅲ"号ROV搭载"大洋一号"船执行的2018年南海综合海试和48航次为例,从深海试验流程和方法、浅水区功能测试、深水区功能测试、深海观测及取样功能测试等方面,详细阐述了ROV海上试验和应用作业过程,对作业水深、功率配置、水下运动能力、搭载能力等关键性能指标进行了试验验证。海上功能测试和试验性应用结果表明,"海龙Ⅲ"ROV各项性能指标满足设计要求,验证了系统在不同深度、不同地形条件下的观测取样作业能力,创新了深水ROV作业方法手段,分析得出此类装备目前在国内发展存在的不足之处,并结合实际应用提出后期改进计划,以期为深海ROV的海试应用提供技术参考。     

履带式深海采矿车软底质行走性能分析

海底底质的物理力学参数不同于陆地土壤,其极低的抗剪强度和承压强度对深海采矿车的行走性能提出高要求。分析基于车辆地面力学理论,开展了底质土力学特性试验研究,建立了深海底质力学模型。根据深海重载作业采矿车样机结构参数,在大型动力学仿真软件Recurdyn中建立了仿真模型。通过直线行走多体动力学仿真与直线行走海试试验的对比,验证了仿真模型的准确性。在此基础上开展了采矿车样机在深海软底质上的多种行走工况动力学仿真,分析与评价其行走性能。结果表明,采矿车样机可以顺利完成转弯、爬坡、越障等基本功能。该研究成果可为深海采矿车海底行走性能评估提供理论参考,为深海采矿车和软底质的相互作用力学研究提供借鉴。     

深海采矿整体联动风险分析及应急撤离策略研究

深海采矿作为新领域资源重点开发项目,国外已开展部分试验研究,国内现阶段仅停留在重点设备部件级功能验证,还未开展过系统整体联动,距离海洋油气等正在进行的规模化商业开采还有很大距离.本文以深海采矿系统整体联动模型为基础,与海洋油气工程作业平台技术模型进行对比,对整体联动风险点进行深度分析,并根据重点风险部件开展其悬挂模式、...     

深海采矿细颗粒羽状流数值模拟研究

深海采矿尾矿排放产生的细颗粒羽状流会对海底生态环境造成影响,预测尾矿排放羽状流行为及其对环境影响具有工程意义。基于欧拉多相流方法,采用欧拉双流体模型对深海采矿细颗粒羽状流开展数值模拟研究,分析近海底排放的羽状流演化和发展过程,探究羽状流初始排放质量浓度、排放速度对羽状流扩散过程的影响。结果表明：初始排放条件对羽状流演化性质有重要影响。主射流区被稀释的程度随着初始入射速度的增大而减小,随着入射质量浓度的增大而增大;初始羽状流入射速度和质量浓度越大,撞击海底后的水平方向流动速度越快,影响区域越广;水平速度的峰值随着初始入射速度的增大呈对数增长;当初始质量浓度和速度高于50 g/L和 0.5 m/s 时可能会导致颗粒在海底撞击点附近堆积成坡状,影响底流的后续发展。研究结果可以为深海采矿尾矿排放参数选择提供参考。     

深海大型爬行机器人研究现状

对海底不同作业形式的深海大型爬行机器人进行了分类综述,依据当前深海大型爬行机器人在各方面的应用,将其分为了深海采矿机器人和深海挖沟机器人两大类,并对这两类中的一些性能突出的机器人进行了详细的介绍。重点介绍我国第一代、第二代多金属结核采矿机器人,SMD的3个多金属硫化物开采机器人,中科院深海所的富钴结壳规模采样爬行机器人,喷射式挖沟爬行机器人QT2800和机械式挖沟爬行机器人BT2400。并对深海大型爬行机器人的海底复杂行走技术和导航定位技术进行了阐述。行走技术方面,重点介绍Nexans公司的带有铰接式行走腿系统的Spider Dredger,中南大学的铰接履带式采矿机器人和北京矿冶研究总院的复合轮式机器人。导航定位方面,介绍了当前一些在用的深海导航定位技术。最后,对未来深海大型爬行机器人的发展趋势进行了展望。