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Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

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CHAPTER 11<br />

A COMPARISON OF THE POSSIBLE ECONOMIC RETURNS FROM MINING<br />

DEEP SEABED POLYMETALLIC NODULES, SEAFLOOR MASSIVE<br />

SULPHIDES AND COBALT-RICH CRUSTS<br />

Jean-Pierre Lenoble, Ingenieur Geologue, Legal and Technical Commission (ISA)<br />

Chatou, France<br />

After a brief description of the characteristics of deep-sea mineral<br />

deposits and of the technologies that could be used for their exploitation, the<br />

author proposes to compare them on the based on the value of a tonne of "insitu"<br />

ore.<br />

1. Economics of mineral deposits<br />

Since 1994 [1], investment decisions on deep-sea mining have been<br />

based on the same economic principles as any other mineral deposit, whether<br />

on-shore or offshore. The profitability of a future commercial deep-sea mining<br />

operation must be proven in order to encourage investments to develop these<br />

deposits [2]. Such profitability is normally established through a feasibility<br />

study that will consider inter alia:<br />

- The characteristics of the mineral deposit,<br />

- The availability of suitable technology to mine it,<br />

- The availability of technologies for processing the ore and<br />

extracting the valuable components from concentrates,<br />

- Commodity prices and market prospects and,<br />

- Last but not least, the protection of the natural<br />

environment.<br />

There is a strong relationship between these different topics.<br />

INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 424

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