Happy 2018 and welcome to our new year’s edition of the DSM Observer. As our readers return from holiday breaks and family gatherings, we embark together on what is shaping up to potentially be one of the most pivotal years yet for deep sea mining. 2017 laid the framework for much of what lies ahead […]
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A new technology may accelerate ore sorting by illuminating batches of ore with short pulses of radio waves, assessing ore grade and enabling high tonnage sorting at rates of up to 5,000 tons per hour. The technology uses sensors to sees through large ore batches in real time as they pass through an open-ended chamber. […]
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Interest in deep sea mining has been accelerating due to the rising price of cobalt. The metal is an important component of EV batteries, laptops and cell phones. In October 2017, cobalt prices reached a nine-year high, trading at around US$30 per pound, tripling its 2015 value of US$10. The rise is not only seen […]
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The government of the Cook Islands, through the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC), entered into an agreement in September with U.S. based Ocean Minerals, LLC (OML) for the exclusive right for up to 18 months to prospect and explore high value polymetallic nodules over approximately 23,000 square kilometers of the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone […]
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The past month has been anything but quiet over at Nautilus Minerals. Changes in leadership, transparent financial stress and mobilized on-the-ground opposition have clashed with marked advances in technology and production timelines on the controversial Solwara One deep sea mining project in Papua New Guinea. A positive 2017 second quarter left shareholders happy and Nautilus […]
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A June 2017 report from the World Bank highlights the role that minerals and metals will play in a low-carbon future. The report “The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals for a Low-Carbon Future” asserts that the rise of green energy technologies is expected to lead to growth in demand for minerals and metals such […]
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At the recent Annual General Meeting of Nautilus Minerals Inc., Chairman Russell Debney, announced to gathered shareholders in Toronto that submerged trials for their completed Seafloor Production Tools (SPTs) had begun in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This announcement came shortly after news that the Nautilus Launch and Recovery System (LARS) had arrived at the Mawei […]
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The development of Financial Regulations to address the benefit sharing aspects of the Mining Code has recently moved to the forefront of ISA business. Per International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly agreement, the whole of the Mining Code cannot go into force without a financial regime in place. In short, this means mining operations cannot begin […]
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