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shipment and processing of the manganese nodules. This program was part of 
a series of diversification studies to apply the Company’s industrial products 
and shipbuilding capabilities to new product lines. To initially evaluate the re- 
ports of the occurrence of manganese nodules, Newport News Shipbuilding and 
Dry Dock chartered a common scallop trawler (shown in Figure 'C*) and set 
sail for the Blake Plateau area. Here a variety of dredging and photography 
runs were made to ascertain the veracity of the reports. Significant quantities of 
manganese nodules were recovered during this period. They were subsequently 
used in the other research and development areas pertaining to a mining con- 
cept. Additional investment was made by Newport News in exploration work 
using other chartered vessels, as well as on their newly acquired and completely 
outfitted research vessel, R/V Prospector. 
In parallel with the exploration work, Newport News undertook the design 
and development of a mining rig. Their analyses, designs, and tests produced the 
patented details of the generalized concept shown on Figures D* and H*. In Fig- 
ure 1D, the two surface vessels are shown which perform the mining and trans- 
portation functions. To the right is the actual mining ship showing the deck 
gear and other handling and storage equipment needed for lowering and re- 
trieving a mining rig to the deep ocean floor. Trailing behind the mining ship 
is an ore carrier, or ore barge, for storage and transfer of the nodules to the 
shore located refining plant. The selection of the type of ore carrying vessel 
would be based on the proximity of the particular mine and its processing plants. 
The considerable investment in the test ‘and development phase of these con- 
cepts led to a series of patents and a fully engineered preliminary design of the 
system. In addition, the cost of the proposed mining equipment designs were 
estimated to permit ‘detailed economic studies demonstrating the potential of 
such a venture. The Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company’s main 
interest in this area was in providing the equipment to enable mining companies 
to recover the manganese nodles. Newport News also worked with a number of 
other major U. S. companies in furthering the processing research to obtain 
marketable metal values from these somewhat unique and complicated ores. 
Mr. Chairman, I submit to you a complete description of this initial mining 
system which was provided in the recent Offshore Technology Conference Paper 
1035, which I authored and is appended to this statement. This paper describes 
the mining system in detail; the method of mapping and locating deposits on the 
sea floor; the concentration, screening and gathering of nodules on the ocean 
floor; the dredge and cargo handling equipment; the mining ship operation and 
briefly discusses the processing considerations. Also provided is a list of the 
patents which were awarded covering this system, a description of the Research 
Vessel Prospector, and several drawings of the key elements of the deep ocean 
mining system. Much of the work described in this paper predated the organiza- 
tion of Deepsea Ventures, Inc. Also predating the organization of Deepsea Ven- 
tures was the development of an extensive data bank including about 30,000 data 
points describing nodule occurrences throughout the world. 
The foregoing “oceanographic package” including engineering designs, economic 
studies, data bank, patents, and the fully operational, sophisticated Research 
Vessel Prospector became the nucleus of Deepsea Ventures, Inc., a subsidiary 
formed by Tenneco Ine. in late 1968. An organization chart of Deepsea Ventures, 
showing its key personnel, is shown in Figure F*. Our Company, now number- 
ing over 20 key technical people and 40 in total, was organized to create the tech- 
nology needed to develop the oceans wealth. 
The purpose of showing you the organization chart and describing our staff 
is only to indicate the kind of a team we believe necessary to carry out such 
a project. Our staff will grow to about 60 in the next few years and we utilize sev- 
eral times that number through subcontracts. Mr. Chairman, it is also important 
to emphasize that we exist only through the awareness and faith of these key 
people who gave up comfortable corporate positions in many of the country’s 
outstanding industrial organizations to become part of the team. They, and our 
parent company, Tenneco, are obviously convinced of the technological and 
economic feasibility of the program. 
The Decpsea Ventures, Inc. Ocean Mining Program 
Figure G* is a photograph of Prospector. It is with Prospector that we locate, 
identify and determine the mineability of a nodule deposit. Our objective is to 
convert our limited knowledge of these occurrences into an economic recoverable 
marine resource. Basically, exploration is a three-facet undertaking. 
*Norre.—The photographs referred to were placed in the files of the 
subcommittee. 
