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March 2019 and conducted 17 400m of exploration drilling in
the same year.
Concurrent with the drill programme, an evaluation of
Tucano's extensive land package was initiated, which is
ongoing. Exploration is divided into ‘near-mine’ and ‘regional’
categories, with a total of USD6.6-million budgeted for 2020.
"With a three-fold increase in drilling metres planned for 2020,
INTERNATIONAL:
MARINE MINING’S
CHALLENGES
we are working to capitalise on Tucano's exploration potential,"
says Jeffrey Mason, interim president and CEO at Great Panther.
"We have identified near-mine targets that could lead to the
development of new mineralised zones, and we are prioritising
prospects for new discoveries farther afield. In addition, with
the current gold price well above the prices used in the historic
pit shell designs, we are analysing opportunities to expand the
existing pits," says Mason.
biodiversity. There is a concern that marine species may be
harmed before they are even discovered,” says Vella.
Dr Kirsten Thompson, lecturer in ecology at the University
of Exeter, told GlobalData that ecologically the area is quite
different than the continental shelf, it will have a completely
different ecosystem which is potentially more complex in its
topography.
With on-land deposits depleting fast, the seabed, which is
thought to be rich in nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese,
is the obvious place to look next. But deep sea mining faces
serious challenges.
According to GlobalData’s mining technology writer Heidi
Vella preparations for a marine mining economy are already
underway. “The International Seabed Authority (ISA), an
autonomous international organisation that manages all
mineral-related activities in the international seabed area,
has already signed 30 contracts with governments, research
institutions and commercial entities for exploration-phase
sea-bed mining,” says Vella.
“To go and mine those areas without knowing what lives
there seems really counterproductive to all sorts of activities
we might want to do in the future, such as carbon burial for
example,” Thompson says.
There is also a concern around the governing body, ISA.
Thompson says: “My understanding of ISA is that there
are certain technical groups who are not allowed to sit in
on meetings, meaning there is no scrutiny from any other
parties other than those that happily support seabed mining,
from a civil service point of view that isn’t right,” Thompson
concludes.
“The real riches of the sea floor are to be found in areas such
as the Clarion–Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a remote part of the
Pacific Ocean which is thought to have one of the world’s
largest untapped collections of rare-earth elements. It is
teeming with potato-sized deposits loaded with copper,
nickel, manganese and other precious ores.
China holds five contracts, with interest from other countries
including Belgium, Britain, Germany and Poland, as well
as from the Middle East. ISA, which was created under the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is planning
to create mineral exploitation rules as early as July 2020. In
February next year, the ISA will meet to discuss and develop
further draft exploitation regulations. Once agreed and
concluded permits could be issued within two to three years,
with operations starting a few years later.
Deep sea mining faces serious challenges.
“However, the nodules in the CCZ are located almost 4 000m
below the ocean surface, making mining much harder.
One company that has been trying to carry out exploration
activities in some of these areas is Nautilus Minerals, which
has been exploring areas offshore Papua New Guinea and
Tonga. It is looking for copper- and gold-rich discoveries
using proven technologies from the offshore oil and gas
industries.
“As well as being technically difficult, seabed mining is also
controversial due to the damage it may cause to marine
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“Proof of just how difficult this has been is that escalating
costs have forced the company to ask for protection from its
creditors after total expenditures incurred reportedly reached
just short of USD461-million.
The seabed is rich in nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.
African Mining
African Mining March 2020
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