there are requirements for development of the 

 following: 



—Inexpensive, rapid drilling and coring equipment. 



—Inexpensive deep sea vehicle facilities from 

 which underwater geological observations, sam- 

 pling, and other geophysical-geochemical surveys 

 can be made more readily. 



—Greater submergence time for deep sea vehicles, 

 permitting increased underwater working time. 



—More precise navigation systems. The location of 

 a drill hole with respect to others in a drilling 

 pattern should be measurable to within less than 

 10 feet and preferably to within a foot if the size 

 and grade of a mineral deposit is to be rigorously 

 evaluated. Lease boundaries need to be determined 

 accurately from surface craft. At present these 

 jobs would have to be done in a very expensive 

 manner: by sending divers down to measure the 

 distances. Under the National Navigation Planning 

 program, the Coast Guard is now investigating the 

 inadequacies of present systems. 



—A variety of sensors that could be used to make 

 in situ engineering measurements relevant to the 

 strength and behavior of seafloor sediments, geo- 

 chemical parameters, and physical properties of 

 sediments at depth. 



—Remote sensing equipment and in situ geophysi- 

 cal devices to aid in determining geologic rock 

 types and subsurface structures and in searching 

 for unexposed mineral deposits. 



C. Gaps in Technology and Engineering That 

 Restrict Exploitation of Marine Mineral Re- 

 sources 



A new system of technology and of engineering 

 techniques will be required if hard minerals are to 

 be extracted successfully from a variety of geo- 

 logic settings in the marine environment. Much of 

 the needed technology will require a long lead 

 time to develop. Although the need for serious 

 exploitation of offshore mineral resources is prob- 

 ably a couple of decades in the future, it is 

 prudent to begin development of the technological 

 capabihty now to ensure its availabihty. Private 

 industry will undoubtedly participate heavily in 



the development of tools and techniques but it 

 appears that, because of the distant and uncertain 

 returns, substantial Federal funding as well as 

 Federal coordination of research and development 

 will be necessary until a viable industry becomes 

 estabUshed. 



Some of the more important technological gaps 

 are: 



—Remotely controlled mining machines to mine 

 placers and other stratified materials from the sea 

 floor. 



—Adequate power sources to mine and process 

 rninerals at sea. 



—Sufficiently strong corrosion-resistant metals to 

 build mining machinery. 



—Knowledge of how ore beneficiation processes 

 carried out aboard ship would be affected by ship 

 motion. At present corrections for this motion are 

 made by guess of the operator. Limiting factors 

 are unknown. 



— JCnowledge of the effects of platform motion on 

 positioning and digging efficiency of mining ma- 

 chinery. 



—Information of how submerged placer material 

 can efficiently be penetrated, disintegrated, and 

 gathered into the mouth of a hydraulic dredge. 



—Knowledge of how heavy placer minerals can be 

 gathered from cracks and openings in the underly- 

 ing bedrock. Many heavy minerals such as gold are 

 concentrated in cracks up to two feet deep in 

 bedrocks and are lost in present dredging proc- 

 esses. Can a method of penetrating bedrock to a 

 depth of two feet or more in dredging operations 

 be developed? 



—Definitive knowledge of what type of dredging 

 platform (or platforms) is most efficient. Contro- 

 versies exist on optimum shape, size, hull type, 

 and other factors. 



—Information on how best to dispose of waste 

 rock and the effect of disposal on ecological and 

 physical environment. 



—Knowledge of dynamics and mechanics of bot- 

 tom-sited platforms and how the seafloor will 

 respond to the weight of heavy miaing vehicles. 



VlI-124 



