47 
TABLE 13.—PROJECTED U.S. CONSUMPTION AND PERCENT OF IMPORTS SATISFIED BY NODULE 
MINING OPERATIONS IN 1985 
[Short tons metal unless noted] 
Estimated 
Estimated recovery 
annual from nodules 
increase by U.S. Percent of U.S. Percent of 
in U.S. Projected firms and consumption U.S. imports 
consumption 1985 U.S. subsidiaries, in 1985 from in 1985 from 
Metal (percent) } consumption 1985 nodules nodules 
Manganese___----.--------- 2.0 225200000 29o 2c seo ee ne ee eee 
3Y1\ 075/000) ce ess) eee A. ee Se ee 
455, 000 4518, 000 100. 0 4 exports 
Nipkele oe eesee | a5. sFLP Oe a 3.0 337, 000 49,700 15.0 19.0 
Copiers ke 4 ese 3.5 3, 360, 000 41, 400 ? 6.5 
Cabana naw ee BESIDE DE 2.6 12, 200 8, 280 68.0 70.0 
qaumnadity Data Summaries 1975, op. cit., pp. 41, 45, 97, 111. 
re. 
3 Ferromanganese. 
4 Pure metal. 
The companies included in Table A are the ones that at this point 
in time are probably the most likely U.S. interests to be participating 
in commercial nodule mining operations by 1985. The U.S. partici- 
pants in the CLB Group are not included, as that consortium was 
formed for exploration and development only, but not for commercial 
exploitation as a joint venture. However, the U.S. participants in the 
CLB Group may join consortia not yet announced, or existing con- 
sortia and, consequently, might also be involved in commercial nodule 
mining operations by 1985. Another consideration is the future out- 
come of Howard Hughes’ Summa Corporation. It appears likely that 
Summa Corp. is developing a deep seabed mining capability, but it is 
not certain whether Summa will use this itself or market the tech- 
nology. If the latter is the case, there is no certainty that buyers would 
be U.S. firms. If Summa Corp. goes into nodule mining itself or sells 
technology to U.S. firms, recovery of manganese nodules by U.S. 
firms in 1985 would be increased. For these reasons the estimates of 
metals recovered from nodules by U.S. firms in 1985 arrived at in 
Table 18 may be minimum amounts. 
Imports of manganese ore and ferromanganese would not likely be 
reduced by nodule mining by more than 3 percent (the amount of U.S. 
consumption as mangenese metal) unless manganese metal from nod- 
ules can be marketed at a price comparable to ferromanganese (ap- 
proximately one-third the present price of manganese metal). 
NICKEL 
Over 40 percent of the nickel consumed is used in stainless steel 
alloys to increase strength and corrosion resistance. Nickel-alloy steels 
are used in high temperature applications such as jet engines and tur- 
bines. Other uses include electroplating, resistance alloys in electrical 
equipment, pollution control equipment, chemical industry, and pe- 
troleum refining. World-wide consumption has increased at an average 
rate of about 6.5 percent, per year over the last 25 years and prospects 
for a continued annual increase of at least 6 percent are likely.*® 
28 United Nations A/CONF. 62/25, op. cit., p. 34. 
