Deep Sea Minerals in the Pacific Islands region Pacific...
Transcript of Deep Sea Minerals in the Pacific Islands region Pacific...
Deep Sea Minerals in the Pacific Islands region: Status, Challenges and Opportunities
“Pacific Mining Symposium”Noumea, New Caledonia
21st – 25th November 2011
Akuila TawakeSOPAC Division
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Mining History… • Conventional onland mining methods:
• - Underground mining, e.g. Vatukoula Gold Mine, Fiji; Tolukuma Gold Mine, PNG. - Open pit, e.g. Bougainville Copper Mine, PNG; Gold Ridge, SI.
• Marine mining is a relatively new method of developing mineral deposits and ongoing since the 1960s;
• Deep sea mining is a new frontier in mineral development.
Trend of Marine Mineral Exploration in the Region• 1960s – Mid 1970s: Manganese Nodules;
• Mid – Late 1970s: Manganese Nodules, Precious Coral, MetalliferousSediments, Phosphate.
• 1980 – 1983: Ongoing assessment of Manganese Nodules, Precious Coral,Metalliferous Sediments, Phosphate.
• 1981: Commencement of Cobalt-rich Crust exploration;
• 1984 – 1987: Ongoing assessment of Manganese Nodules;
• 1982 and 1984 – discovery of hydrothermal vents in the Lau Back-arc Basin.
• 1991 – confirmation of high grade Seafloor Massive Sulphide (SMS) deposits in the Manus Basin PNG by the CSIRO.
1985-2005 Japan-SOPAC Survey
1st phase: 1985 - 1999
2nd phase: 2000 - 2005
Hakurei Maru 2PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, FSM, Marshall Islands
Recent Offshore Exploration in the Region• Nautilus Minerals:
- Canadian Company but Australian based.- Currently exploring in PNG and Tonga.
• Neptune Minerals:- United Kingdom Company but Australian based.- Previously exploring in NZ.
• Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI)
• Blue-water Metals:- Australian based mineral exploration company.
Tenement Holdings of Companies
• Total land area of PICs: 550,000km2
-146,000Bluewater Metals
476,9801,067,062Total
-20,000KORDI
200,000450,600Neptune Minerals
276, 980450,462Nautilus Minerals
Application (km2)Granted (km2)Company
SMS Deposits
• Often associated with submarine volcanoes or volcanic activity.
• Form in different settings:– Mid-Ocean Ridges (e.g.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge).– Back-Arc Basins (e.g.
Manus Basin, Lau Basin).– Fore-Arc Volcanic Ridges
(e.g. Kermadec Ridge –north of NZ).
• Found in water depths of 350m – 3,700m (latest discovery at 5,000m in the Caribbean).
• More than 200 seafloor hydrothermal vent sites have been discovered world-wide.
Seafloor Massive Sulphide
Caribbean North Fiji Basin
Manus Basin
Manus Basin
Manganese Nodules and Cobalt-rich Crust
Widespread but thin encrustation on the rock surface
Nodular and encrustations
Mode of Occurrence
Nickel, Cobalt (1.0 – 2.5%), Platinum
Nickel (0.55%), Copper (0.35%), Cobalt (0.25%)
Minor Minerals
Manganese, Iron Manganese (20 %), Iron (14 %),
Major Minerals
400 – 4,0004,000 – 6,000Depth (m)
Flanks of volcanic islands and seamounts
All oceansWhere they occur?
Cobalt-rich CrustManganese Nodules
Manganese Nodules
Cook Islands Cook Islands
Cook Islands
Cobalt-rich Crust
Marshall Islands Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands Marshall Islands
Plate Tectonics and Deep Sea Mineral Occurrence
Mineral Occurrence in the Region
√√Niue√Federated States of Micronesia√Marshall Islands
√Fiji√Vanuatu√Solomon Islands√PNG√Tonga
√Samoa√√Tuvalu
√Cook Islands√√Kiribati
SMSCRCMNCountry
• No economic potential for Metalliferous Sediment, Precious Coral and Phosphate
Nautilus SMS Exploration in PNG
Solwara 1
Status of Nautilus Exploration Licenses in PNG
• Central Manus Basin - first SMS deposit discovered in the region in 1985.
PNG – Nautilus Minerals Solwara 1 Project• High resolution bathymetry and
Sidescan Sonar;• Geophysical surveys (magnetic,
electromagnetic and seismic);• Grab surface sampling (using
ROVs);• Video camera (using ROVs);• Drilling (diamond core); • Geotechnical testing of drill core;• Metallurgical test of ore material;• Independent resource estimation;• Environmental Impact Study.
Resource Estimates Comparison
-1.0--0.8910 (resource & reserve)
Porphyry Cu-Au
Ok Tedi Mine(PNG)
75-0.255.772.2115VMSKidd Mine ^
(Canada)
8.6-0.21.31.63.4VMSWhim Creek ~(WA)
377.2-0.87.51.3 (Inferred)
234.8-0.46.80.87 (Indicated)SMSSolwara 1* (PNG)
24.390.85-0.616.930.5 (Inferred)SMSTriple Junction (Fiji)
Ag (g/t)
Au (g/t)
Pb(%)
Zn (%)
Cu (%)
Average GradeResource (Mt)Type of
DepositPotential and
Operating Mines
* (Golder Associates, 2008); ~ (Collins et al, 2004); ^ (Wilton, 1998)
Economic Issues• SMS deposits are higher in mineral content than on-land deposits:
• Typical value of a tonne of land based ore: US$50-200.• Typical value of a tonne of SMS ore: US$500-1500.• One full mining operation could produce export revenues of up to
US$500m pa and taxes/royalties of up to US$50m pa.
3-23%5-20%Lead5-50%5-20%Zinc2-20g/t0.6-8g/tGold5-15%0.5-2%Copper
SMSOn-landMetal
Benefits of Offshore Mining
• Host country and the region will benefit:
(1) Wealth worth millions of dollars will be generated.(2) Significant share of the wealth shall be returned to government and the people through tax revenues, royalty and employment.(3) Mining revenue will enable government to stimulate other economic sectors.(4) Indirectly supporting other local economic activities.(5) Contribute to a well educated labour force.(6) Increase in labour mobility.
Dee Sea Mining a Possibility?• Viability of offshore mining hinges on:
- world demand;- commodity prices;- technological development.
• Any offshore mining operation has to compete with terrestrial mining;
• Previous studies have revealed that mining of manganese nodules and CRC are not feasible;
• Recent studies of SMS deposits have indicated excellent potential for mining;
• Deep sea mining will most likely be confined to SMS deposits in the next 5-10 years.
Recent Technology Development • Rapid expansion of marine
technology is driven by: - military and marine research;- gas and oil production;- relatively shallow marine mining (i.e. diamond mining in Africa).
- Nautilus Design for mining SMS deposits: - Mining Support Vessel (MSV)- Riser and Lifting Systems (RALS)- Seafloor Mining Tools (SMT)
• The development of new seabed mining technologies will increase the economic viability of manganese nodules and Cobalt-rich Crust deposits.
Comparing Terrestrial and Offshore Mining
Sulphuric acid cannot form in ocean (seawater being “alkaline”)
Acid Rock Drainage
Small footprintHuge footprint
Reasonably less amount of waste generated
Generate significant amount of waste materials
Common heritage of the nationComplex resource ownership system
Far less infrastructure to be built Huge infrastructure development
Located with national EEZOften isolated and difficult to access
No overburden Huge overburdenMarineTerrestrial
Ocean – the Overburden that won’t go away• Any mining operation has to
constantly deal with the overlying huge body of seawater.
• Ocean cannot be shifted elsewhere for easy access to seabed minerals.
• Significant distance (i.e. water depth) separates the mineral deposit from the mining platform.
• Need to develop robust seabed mining tools including the ore lifting system to ensure environmentally sound mining practice.
• Ore hoisting process will consume reasonable amount of time and energy.
Recent Developments on DSM• PNG has granted Nautilus
Minerals with the world’s second deep sea mining leasein January 2011.
• Nauru (NORI) and Tonga (TOML) registered companies have been granted exploration license in the International Seabed Area (the Area).
• PICs such such Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and Fiji have shown interest in applying for exploration license in the Area.
Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone
SOPAC-EU EDF10 Deep Sea Minerals Project
The Project has four Key Result Areas: • (1) Regional legislative and regulatory framework (RLRF) for offshore
minerals exploration and mining;
• (2) National policy, legislation and regulations;
• (3) Building national capacities – supporting active participation of PICs nationals in the offshore mining industry; and
• (4) Effective management and monitoring of offshore exploration and mining operations.
Overall objective: to expand the economic resource base of Pacific ACP States by facilitating the development of a viable and sustainable marine minerals industry.
References• Coffey Natural Systems, 2008. Environmental Impact Statement for the
Solwara 1 Project.
• Collins P and others. 2004. Whim Creek Cu-Zn-Pb Deposit, Pilbara Western Australia.
• Golder Associates. 2008. Mineral Resource Estimate Solwara 1 Project Bismarck Sea Papua New Guinea.
• JICA and MMAJ. 2006 . Japan-SOPAC Cooperative Study 1985 – 2005 Reports.
• Nobuyuki Nokamoto. 2006. Presentation on Deep Sea Mineral Potential in the South Pacific Region.
• Tivey M. K . 2007. Generation of Seafloor Hydrothermal Vents Fluids and Associated Mineral Deposits. Oceanography Vol 20 No.1.
• Wilton D. 1998. The Northern Miner – Description of ore types.