BlueHarvesting

 

Title

Hydraulic Collector for Polymetallic Nodules from the Deepsea

Concept

Deep sea mining is one of the new fields of industry that can aid in the supply of critical raw materials. Vast amounts of polymetallic nodules are found on the floor of the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean at typical water depths of 3 to 6 kilometers, containing appreciable amounts of cobalt, nickel and copper. To date, subsea harvesting equipment (collectors) is known to generate large plumes of suspended particles which will have serious impacts on seabed life in the areas surrounding the mine sites and potentially for some kilometers distant to the mine sites.

Participants

• Technische Universiteit Delft, Netherlands (Coordinator)
• Aarhus University, Denmark 
• Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas M.P., Spain
• IHC Mining B.V., Netherlands
• Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
• Seascape Consultants Ltd, United Kingdom
• Stichting Nederlandse Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Instituten, Netherlands
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain