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 fo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine georesources & geotechnology 2002-04, Vol.20 (2), p.161-176
Main Author: Glasby, G. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Deep-SEA Mining
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Manganese Crusts
Manganese Nodules
Marine
Marine geology
Metal geology
Metallic and non-metallic deposits
Submarine Hydrothermal Deposits
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:1064-119X
1521-0618
DOI:10.1080/03608860290051859