14
Y. Fouquet and D. Lacroix
by France, with Technip at the head (pilot project). The extraction cost appears to
be roughly comparable to extraction costs for underground mines ($ 90 per tonne)
with a predicted development time of 2–5 years.
Stakeholder Involvement
For many years, stakeholders have been involved in a wide range of actions: publications by active scientific communities, NGO mobilisation on site protection,
emergence of economic players (Nautilus, Neptune), rise of technological players
(Technip), emergence of political criteria (4 critical metals out of the 14 identified
by the European Commission), expansion of legal scope (allocation of licenses in
international waters and EEZ management).
The most active countries in exploration in international waters are the following: China, Korea, Russia and India. The legal framework is the ISA regulation
adopted in May 2010. Applications have been submitted by China (May 2010) and
Russia (December 2010).
Cobalt-Rich and Platinum-Rich Crusts: Relative Certainties
and Uncertainties
Ferromanganese oxide crusts have been identified in all the oceans, in environments
in which the combination of currents and low sedimentation rates have prevented
sediment deposit for millions of years. In general, they are associated with intraplate
submarine elevations, isolated seamounts and volcanic chains. They vary in thickness
from a few centimetres to 25 cm and cover surface areas of several square kilometres.
They are generally deposited on indurated substrata (volcanoes, former underwater
atolls) at depths ranging from 400 to 4,000 m. Estimations indicate that the total surface area covered by crusts is around 6.35 million km
2
, i.e. 1.7 % of the ocean surface.
The first systematic investigations began in 1981 in the Central Pacific Ocean. Over
the past 20 years, many countries have taken an interest in these potential resources:
Japan, the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Korea, the United Kingdom, Brazil
and China. Few submarine volcanoes (out of an estimated 50,000) have been studied
in this ocean. Cobalt- and platinum-rich deposits have the greatest economic potential.
All of these deposits are located in the Pacific, especially in the EEZ of French Polynesia. These deposits appear on the external edges of submarine plateaus (like in the
Tuamotu Islands) and on volcanoes, at depths ranging from 800 to 2,500 m.
Like nodules, crusts are mainly composed of iron and manganese oxides. They
are on average three times higher in cobalt and often have high platinum concentrations (Fig. 1.6). The highest concentrations (maximum of 1.8 % cobalt and 3.5 g
per tonne of platinum) are located in Polynesia, between 1,500 and 2,000 m deep.
The “metal content” value is 2–3 times higher than that of laterite mined on land
where the content does not exceed 0.4 %. These crusts could constitute the first cobalt
ore, as this metal is to date a by-product of other mining processes. On certain sites,
Y. Fouquet and D. Lacroix
by France, with Technip at the head (pilot project). The extraction cost appears to
be roughly comparable to extraction costs for underground mines ($ 90 per tonne)
with a predicted development time of 2–5 years.
Stakeholder Involvement
For many years, stakeholders have been involved in a wide range of actions: publications by active scientific communities, NGO mobilisation on site protection,
emergence of economic players (Nautilus, Neptune), rise of technological players
(Technip), emergence of political criteria (4 critical metals out of the 14 identified
by the European Commission), expansion of legal scope (allocation of licenses in
international waters and EEZ management).
The most active countries in exploration in international waters are the following: China, Korea, Russia and India. The legal framework is the ISA regulation
adopted in May 2010. Applications have been submitted by China (May 2010) and
Russia (December 2010).
Cobalt-Rich and Platinum-Rich Crusts: Relative Certainties
and Uncertainties
Ferromanganese oxide crusts have been identified in all the oceans, in environments
in which the combination of currents and low sedimentation rates have prevented
sediment deposit for millions of years. In general, they are associated with intraplate
submarine elevations, isolated seamounts and volcanic chains. They vary in thickness
from a few centimetres to 25 cm and cover surface areas of several square kilometres.
They are generally deposited on indurated substrata (volcanoes, former underwater
atolls) at depths ranging from 400 to 4,000 m. Estimations indicate that the total surface area covered by crusts is around 6.35 million km
2
, i.e. 1.7 % of the ocean surface.
The first systematic investigations began in 1981 in the Central Pacific Ocean. Over
the past 20 years, many countries have taken an interest in these potential resources:
Japan, the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Korea, the United Kingdom, Brazil
and China. Few submarine volcanoes (out of an estimated 50,000) have been studied
in this ocean. Cobalt- and platinum-rich deposits have the greatest economic potential.
All of these deposits are located in the Pacific, especially in the EEZ of French Polynesia. These deposits appear on the external edges of submarine plateaus (like in the
Tuamotu Islands) and on volcanoes, at depths ranging from 800 to 2,500 m.
Like nodules, crusts are mainly composed of iron and manganese oxides. They
are on average three times higher in cobalt and often have high platinum concentrations (Fig. 1.6). The highest concentrations (maximum of 1.8 % cobalt and 3.5 g
per tonne of platinum) are located in Polynesia, between 1,500 and 2,000 m deep.
The “metal content” value is 2–3 times higher than that of laterite mined on land
where the content does not exceed 0.4 %. These crusts could constitute the first cobalt
ore, as this metal is to date a by-product of other mining processes. On certain sites,