32 
nized a consortium to test a CLB system. More recently, Ocean Re- 
sources organized a 25-member consortium from six countries to de- 
velop and production-test CLB systems. Other U.S. firms represented 
in this consortium include Ethyl Corp., Occidental Minerals, Phelps- 
Dodge, N.L. Industries, Superior Oil, Utah International, United 
States Steel, General Crude Oil, and Atlantic Richfield Oil. Bethle- 
hem Steel is also reported to have an interest in nodule mining. Bat- 
telle Memorial Institute is reported to be conducting research on 
nodule processing.* 
Tue Howarp HucHes EnIcMA 
In view of recent events, a U.S. firm that bears special mention with 
regard to the development of deep sea mining technology is the Sum- 
ma Corporation owned by the billionaire recluse Howard Hughes. In 
1968, a Russian diesel-powered submarine carrying torpedos and mis- 
siles armed with nuclear warheads sank about 750 miles northwest of 
Hawaii. The ship broke up as it sank to the ocean floor at a depth of 
16,000 feet. Evidently. the Russian navy did not know the exact loca- 
tion of the mishap although U.S. listening devices had pinpointed the 
ship’s location with accuracy.? The U.S. Navy and Central Intelligence 
Agency (CIA) recognized this as a rare opportunity to gain valuable 
information about Soviet codes and nuclear capabilities. However, the 
means of retrieving the remains of the submarine were lacking. It is 
not known whether the CIA was the only impetus for Howard Hughes 
to build the salvage vessel or whether Hughes had already begun the 
design of the 618-foot, 36,000-ton Glomar Explorer to mine the sea- 
bed. In any event. deep seabed mining made a good cover for the 
secret activities of the CIA to recover the submarine. Consequently, 
the CLA became the primary impetus and funding for the develop- 
ment of the specialized deep sea recovery technology through Summa 
Corporation, beginning about 1970. 
The normal secrecy of the Hughes operations contributed to the 
complete success of the cover story resulting in numerous accounts 
such as, “Howard Hughes may have manganese nodules on the deck 
of his deep-ocean mining ship, the Glomar Explorer, by mid-1974.” © 
Other accounts were also speculative or else described design features 
of the ship or equipment that could not be concealed.’ § 
= Oceanograph Newsletter, v. 9, No. 12, June 24, 1974, Ta 
*Flipse, J. E. Ocean Mining Stified by lack of U.S. and U.N. Action. wi 
January 1974, p. 33. E 7 NOOR eae tee 
> Washington Post. Mar. 23, 1975, p. Al and AT. 
_ ° Tinsley, C. R. Mining of Manganese Nodules: an Intriguing Legal Problem. Engineer- 
ing/Mining Journal, October 1973, p. 84. 
‘Now Howard Hughes Mines the Ocean Floor. Business Week. June 16, 1973. p. 47—50. 
peered oye Explorer Begins Sea Tests of Mining Systems. Ocean Industry. March 
4, DP. 52—54. 
