RIASSUNTO
ABSTRACT
Major advances by several independent efforts have taken place in the last few years to develop the nodule resource. A synopsis of this activity is presented. A summary and comparison of the available schedules and cost and investment estimates of several programs is presented. An analysis is made of the predicted achievements through the decade of the 1980's.
The world markets for the principal products from the nodules are scoped. The competitive production from today's sources are summarized and the impact on these sources of future ocean production is assessed.
The principal conclusions drawn are:
There are up to ten prospective entrants to the deep ocean nodule mining race.
A few are ready now to move rapidly to commercial production.
The mine sites, mining equipment, processing plants, and markets are in-hand ,and designed.
Nevertheless, because of technical, commercial, and financial realities, in the late 1970's only a few units will come on-stream and, in the 1980's, less than ten units.
Commercial success will not be realized by monopolizing world commodity markets but by competing with traditional sources and technologies in the world markets for a demand expanding at a pace well matched by the realities of this source of supply.
INTRODUCTION
About four years ago, there were many who predicted that the nodule' mining business was just a flash in the pan. At the other extreme, there were those who claimed that vast riches were to come from the deep ocean billions of dollars' of profit in a short while. There were others who claimed that land mining was a thing of the past and the future of all nickel, copper, and manganese mining was in the sea (1) (2) (3) (4). None of these extremes are true (5). Today there are very few who adhere to anyone of these extreme position.
The three or so companies that were sincerely active in the 1968-1969 time period continue to be active today. They have been joined by a half a dozen more companies representing interests in today's three principal Free World metal markets Japan, North America, and Europe.
There have been many publications in the past several years that identify the nodule resource sufficiently to permit anyone with the funding and know-how to start on a prospecting program that has a reasonable probability of success. Prototype mining equipments have been tested and larger sized equipments have been built and are getting ready for testing. Metal, ready for market, has been produced from the nodules and further scale-ups of several processes are in the works.