COBALT-RICH FERROMANGANESE CRUSTS
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Deep sea mineral exploration and mining technology is aimed at the efficient identification and
economic extraction of sea-floor mineral resources. There have recently been significant ad-
vancements made in offshore technology, engineering, and equipment, predominantly fuelled
by the offshore oil and gas, dredging, and telecommunications industries. Much of this technol-
ogy, especially the trenching technology for laying pipelines, can be applied to deep sea miner-
al extraction, bringing the deep sea mining industry closer to commercialization. However, the
extraction of ferromanganese crusts may be more difficult than the sea-floor massive sulphides
or manganese nodules discussed in Volumes 1A and 1B of this series. Crusts are formed on the
steep sides of seamounts making the terrain potentially difficult for remotely operated vehicles.
In addition, separating the thin mineralised deposit from the underlying rock, without producing
large amount of waste rock may be a challenge.
