^4ARINE MINERALS MINING TECHNOLOGY 



by 



G. Richards Gwinn 



Mineral Resources Development, Bureau of Mines 



U. S. Department of The Interior 



The marine minerals technology program is addressed to the single 

 purpose of devising and perfe':ting systems for the development and mining 

 of mineral substances on and below the ocean's floor. It is an applied 

 program in marine engineering adapting known principles to an unde. 'ea 

 environment and designed to demonstrate the economics as well as technologic 

 feasibility of commercially extracting minerals from the sea. The program 

 was initiated in fiscal year 1964 and, following an initial period of proj- 

 ect formulation study, entered an actual operational stage in 1965. 



Working with the Bureau under a cooperative agreement are the Lockheed 

 Missiles and Space Company and the International Minerals and Chemicals 

 Corporation. 



The present and projected plan of operation contemplates a cooperative 

 venture joining the skills of private and government organizations in a 

 variety of arrangements that promise to achieve the goal of c"<mmercial pro- 

 duction in the most direct and logical fashion. It is an in-house Federal 

 program backstopped by the established research facilities and capabilities 

 of the Bureau of Mines as well as the other agencies and private industry 

 groups cooperating in the program. A large share of the funding is provided 

 by the private interests that are cooperating in the work. 



An inactive Naval Station at Tiburon, California, is the land-based 

 staging site for aspects of the program that are conducted at sea and on the 

 ocean bottom. It is the principal base of operation for the ships and sub- 

 mersibles employed in support of such work. It will ultimately accomodate 

 a central data processing and communication establishment and laboratory 

 facilities for mineralogical investigations not otherwise performed at some 

 inland establishment. Shop facilities adequate for emergency repairs and 

 simple modification, and instrument fabrication and repair are maintained 

 there. Major construction is accomplished elsewhere. 



Several engineering projects are now accommodated under the program, 

 all concerned with some aspect of gathering and recovering mineral sub- 

 stances. The projects relate to the application of hydraulic and airlifting 

 systems and to a variety of accessory devices designed to sample and under- 

 stand the nature of the occurrences to be mined. Consideration of economic 

 factors dictates that initial concern be directed to the shallower forms 

 of mineralization on the Continental Shelf at locations where markets are 

 conceivable. Investigations will progress to the depths and expand in 

 scale and scope on the basis of experience, findings, and degree of success 

 of the initial program. 



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