The 3rd Annual Asia-Pacific Deep Sea Mining Summit in Singapore on 21-22 November 2017 saw new technologies presented by delegates from offshore industries, bringing forth new innovations for exploration and exploitation of deep sea minerals.
Presentations ranged from technology solutions for commercializing deep sea mining, to new concepts of ship building, multi-stage riser systems, umbilicals, deep sea simulators and factors for optimization of mining rates for deep sea minerals.
Several entrepreneurs shared their experiences in utilization of multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and autonomous surface sub-surface survey systems for exploration of deep sea minerals as well as real-time monitoring of hydrothermal vent systems.
Case studies from recent explorations and technology demonstrations in the Pacific Ocean and Red Sea highlighted the enhanced interest of different entities in commercializing deep sea mineral deposits in the near future.
In line with the development of environmental management strategies as well as exploitation guidelines by the International Seabed Authority, discussions also centered around environmental benefit analysis and baseline environmental assessments, the application processes for nearshore iron sand mining and deep sea minerals exploitation, and the regulatory challenges to deep sea mining.
This post was contributed by Dr. Rahul Sharma of India’s National Institute of Oceanography, editor of the new book Deep-Sea Mining: Resource Potential, Technical and Environmental Considerations.
