Page 29: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2024)

n January, Norway said “yes” to sea- bed mining, adding its weight to the momentum that is likely to override the calls for a moratorium by over 20 countries and companies such as

I Google, BMW, Volvo and Samsung.

Those against mining aim to protect the unique and largely unknown ecology of the sea? oor from physical destruction, sediment smothering and noise pollution.

However, the International Seabed Au- thority (ISA) has granted 31 exploration contracts in international waters and is ex- pected to con? rm mining guidelines this

July, or perhaps next. Nearly two thirds of the licenses are for nodule mining, the most advanced sector.

Belgium-based GSR, part of the DEME

Group, has Transocean as a cornerstone in- vestor, and it conducted trials of a patented nodule collector, Patania II, at 4,500 meters in the Clarion Clipperton Zone in 2021.

Full-scale trials will be conducted in 2027.

Patania II uses jet water pumps to lift nod- ules into a collection drum. Peer-reviewed research has indicated that released sedi- ment-laden water led to a low-lying, later- ally spreading turbidity current. Only 2-8% of the sediment mass was detected 2m or higher above the seabed and hadn’t settled after several hours.

“All indications to date point to polymetal- lic nodules having the potential to become one of the most responsible ways to help meet the world’s spiraling demand for met- als,” says GSR managing director Kris Van

Nijen. “Our focus is on developing a source of high grade, low carbon minerals which can work alongside other strategies to reach the eventual goal of a circular economy and a stable planet.”

Canada-based The Metals Company has partnered with Allseas which has a con- verted drillship, Hidden Gem, set up for nodule collection.

Onboard technology developments include the vessel’s launch and recovery system (LARS) which deploys and recovers the col- lector and feeds its power and control um- www.marinetechnologynews.com 29

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