Preliminary Economic Feasibility Study of Ferromanganese Nodule Mining by Mechanical Lifting and Small-Scale Collectors

Ferromanganese nodules have been recognized as a potential future metal source for over 50 years. Many research and development efforts have been conducted by many organizations. Most of the efforts have been concentrated into the mining technologies especially for hydraulic lifting through riser pipes with bulk-scale nodule collector. However, no commercial mining venture exists. Uncertainty in the economy of nodule mining is considered to be the reason for this. In order to improve the economy, a mining subsystem based on mechanical lifting and small-scale collectors is proposed and the preliminary economic feasibility is examined in this study. The benefit was at a favorable level compared with that using hydraulic lifting with bulk-scale collector. From the viewpoint of environmental impact assessment, environmental considerations of deep-sea sediment plume are explained.