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Minerals
Special Issues
Processing Technologies in Deep-Sea Mining
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Processing Technologies in Deep-Sea Mining

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2022) | Viewed by 1864

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hong Nguyen Vu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Interests: hydrometallurgic processes; preparation of micro- and nano-particles; processing of marine concretions; recycling of metal-bearing waste
Prof. Dr. Tomasz Abramowski

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. General Director of Interoceanmetal Joint Organization, Cyryla i Metodego 9, 71-541 Szczecin, Poland
2. Faculty of Navigation, Maritime University of Szczecin, Wały Chrobrego 1-2, 70-500 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: polymetallic nodules; exploration techniques and data processing; value chain of deep seabed mining; deep sea minerals mining and transport technology; economics of deep sea mining; ocean engineering and energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Responsible deep-sea mining can significantly mitigate the potential global shortage of minerals needed to drive the green revolution involving everything from electric car batteries to wind turbines. It is expected that the present development of the power sector and transport sector toward lower or zero-emission technologies will result in the risk of supply of metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and other elements such as lithium or REE. They are found in the promising deposits of marine minerals such as polymetallic nodules, massive sulfides, and cobalt crusts. In order to enable the transition from the exploration phase to the sustainable extraction of deep-sea minerals, it becomes necessary to conduct in-depth research into the processing stage of these minerals.

This Special Issue will provide an insight into processing technologies, metal recoveries, and economic feasibility, including sustainable approaches and environmental protection of deep-sea mining. The main topics of the issue comprise R&D in metallurgical processes (raw materials pre-treatment and metal recovery), both on board and on land facilities, comprehensive utilization and waste disposal, energy consumption in developed technologies, design of metallurgical equipment, and upscaling. Reports on the economic feasibility of deep-sea mining, including cost models from deep sea to shipment on land, economic consequences of different processing options, and possible impacts of seabed mining on metal markets, are equally welcome.

This Special Issue invites contributions dealing with all scientifically focused aspects of processing technologies in deep-sea mining activities. Particularly, as Guest Editors, we expect to contribute to the scientific discussion on how and if future developments in the processing of deep-sea minerals might contribute to fostering the sustainability and feasibility of the value chain of deep-sea mining projects.  

Dr. Hong Nguyen Vu
Prof. Dr. Tomasz Abramowski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • deep-sea mining
  • processing and metal extraction
  • manganese nodules
  • massive sulfides
  • cobalt crust
  • rare earth muds
  • economic evaluation
  • waste management

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2295 KiB  
Article
Bioleaching Test of Polymetallic Nodule Samples from the IOM Exploration Area
by Darina Štyriaková, Iveta Štyriaková, Jaroslav Šuba, Peter Baláž and Tomasz Abramowski
Minerals 2022, 12(11), 1373; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12111373 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1300
Abstract
The Interoceanmetal Joint Organization’s (IOM) exploration license is granted in the area located within the Clarion–Clipperton Zone of the Eastern Central Pacific. All activities related to exploration of minerals in this area are beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and come under the [...] Read more.
The Interoceanmetal Joint Organization’s (IOM) exploration license is granted in the area located within the Clarion–Clipperton Zone of the Eastern Central Pacific. All activities related to exploration of minerals in this area are beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and come under the provision of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and related regulations. The geological survey, which was the subject of the exploration, focused on the polymetallic nodule deposits. Other activities covered the tests of nodule processing, including alternative methods of metal extraction. This article describes the methodology of the bioleaching process and provides a summary of the initial results of the bioleaching test, applied to the samples of polymetallic nodules taken from the H22 exploration block of the IOM exploration area. The bioleaching efficiency under different pulp density conditions was studied. The enrichment of heterotrophic Mn-reducing microorganisms was prepared as the leaching medium. Bioleaching of the samples took place with different sample weights in order to determine the maximum possible extraction yield and the highest concentration of elements obtained in the leachate. During the bioleaching, the media were also exchanged to achieve maximum polymetallic nodule decomposition with regular addition of nutrients for heterotrophic Mn-reducing bacteria. The bioleaching efficiency of the polymetallic nodules increased to 100% (without Cu) when the pulp density was reduced to 0.1% (w/v). The discontinuous bioleaching and washing process recovered 55% Mn, 36% Ni, 15% Co, 27% Zn, and 38% Cu when the pulp density was increased to 10% (w/v). To achieve total Mn, Cu, Zn, Co, and Ni recovery from the polymetallic nodules, an intermittent bioleaching with about 25 changes of 60% of the medium was required when the pulp density was increased to 10% (w/v). Bioleaching has the potential to be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to other commonly used options for leaching and processing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing Technologies in Deep-Sea Mining)
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