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Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the seabed of the deep sea. The main ores of commercial interest are polymetallic nodules , which are found at depths of 4–6 km (2.5–3.7 mi) primarily on the abyssal plain .
Model of seabed mining technology. Seabed mining, also known as Seafloor mining [1] is the recovery of minerals from the seabed by techniques of underwater mining. The concept includes mining at shallow depths on the continental shelf and deep-sea mining at greater depths associated with tectonic activity, hydrothermal vents and the abyssal plains.
Brine mining is the extraction of useful materials (chemical elements or compounds) which are naturally dissolved in brine.The brine may be seawater, other surface water, groundwater, or hyper-saline solutions from several industries (e.g., textile industries). [1]
Very little is known about deep sea ecosystems or the potential impacts of deep-sea mining. Polymetallic nodule fields are hotspots of abundance and diversity for a highly vulnerable abyssal fauna, much of which lives attached to nodules or in the sediment immediately beneath it.
There are a number of ways to increase the concentration of the wanted minerals: in any particular case, the method chosen will depend on the relative physical and surface chemical properties of the mineral and the gangue. Concentration is defined as the number of moles of a solute in a volume of the solution.
Marine geology has several methods of detecting geological features below the sea. [2] [13] [14] [15] One of the economic benefits of geological surveying of the seafloor is determining valuable resources that can be extracted. [42] The two major resources mined at sea include oil and minerals.
It’s known that the ocean stores more carbon than the Earth’s atmosphere, plants and soil, and scientists are still finding new species during rare exploration trips, with sample studies ...
Some mining, including much of the rare earth elements and uranium mining, is done by less-common methods, such as in-situ leaching: this technique involves digging neither at the surface nor underground. The extraction of target minerals by this technique requires that they be soluble, e.g., potash, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium ...