Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

Environmental management. Some examples of these initiatives are
discussed in part II of this case study.
New challenges for mineral resource management
Mineral resource management is striving to innovatively meet the
many challenges presented by offshore diamond exploration and mining.
With continued experience and more in-depth knowledge about the
behaviour of mining systems in different types of ore bodies, mining
engineers, design engineers and metallurgists are able to request more
specific, quantitative data to aid them in their quest to support the future
development of the industry.
The accuracy of the geological model is proving to be an important
aspect in the testing of new mining systems, which places significant
emphasis on the geotechnical characterisation of the ore body to allow
mineability to be accurately predicted ahead of mining. Detailed
information of this type is also fundamentally important for ore dressing
studies to allow treatment and recovery plant design to be optimised to
meet the demanding conditions presented by the offshore mining
environment. Consequently, geologists are becoming increasingly
involved in the reconstruction of seafloor conditions for full-scale and
model testing of mining system prototypes and concepts. This is proving
to be both challenging and stimulating, as it adds another dimension to the
work being addressed by mineral resource management teams. It also
emphasises the criticality of mineral resource management to the future
development of the offshore mining industry. With these stringent
requirements for accurate information, the development of geological and
associated models required by colleagues in many different functions is
being transformed into a process of continuous learning, with new
insights being provided almost on a daily basis. There is little doubt that
the move to increasingly quantitative ore body models will bring with it
new challenges, both in terms of the technology available to acquire the
correct data and in terms of the ability to interpret this data correctly for
the design and testing of advanced mining and recovery systems.
These demands are unlikely to be met without open collaboration
across entire multi-disciplinary teams involved in projects aided by highquality
feedback from operationally based staff directly involved in the
mining process. Such feedback loops are essential for continuous learning
and the long-term development of the offshore diamond mining industry,
which is still in its infancy.
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 593