Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

2) Deep ocean hot springs at massive sulphide deposits:
• Every seafloor hydrothermal field examined to date has some
species that are not found in any other field ( 22/ ).
Varieties of heat-loving microbes (thermophiles) are associated with
the seafloor hot springs at polymetallic massive sulphide deposits. These
microbes are of great interest to science and to industry. Analysis of their
genetic material indicates that certain of these microbes are at the base of the
tree of life and their study may elucidate the origin of life. Bioactive
compounds found in these microbes are already employed in replicating
DNA for forensic and medical applications (polymerase chain reaction),
enhancing flow in deep oil wells, and hold promise for use in hightemperature
industrial processes, as well as for pharmaceuticals applicable to
cancer and other diseases.
7. Summary and Conclusions
Continental margins (continental shelf, slope and rise) have great
potential for a broad spectrum of metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits
(Figure 1). However, actual mining to date has been limited to a small
number of placer metal (tin, gold, titanium, chromium, barium, zirconium,
and rare earth elements) and non-metal (diamond, thorium, lime, sand and
gravel, water) deposits (Table 1). The most common and widespread
materials comprising sand and gravel (construction and beach
replenishment), seawater for desalination into freshwater (domestic and
agricultural water supply), and phosphorite (fertilizer) hold particular
potential for future growth because water, shelter and food are essential for
survival. The need exists for an up-to-date estimate of the annual quantity
and value of marine minerals produced.
In contrast to external processes of erosion, river transport, and
motions of the ocean that concentrate minerals derived from continental rocks
onto continental margins, internal processes predominate in concentrating
minerals in the deep ocean. These deep ocean processes involve transfer of
heat and material from the Earth's interior to the lithosphere and ocean at
submerged plate boundaries with concentration of massive sulphide deposits
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 88