Global projects and exploration
companies who operate there billions in potential
capital costs when the time comes to build a mine,”
said Ward.
Ward added that there was a modern-day copper-
gold rush happening in Ecuador, supported by the
country’s strategy to make mining a major pillar in
its economy. The government is committed — they
expect about USD4-billion in investment to be
brought into the country by 2021.
Switzerland
Vanitec hosts battery forum
London-based Vanitec’s Energy Storage
Committee will sponsor the ninth International
Flow Battery Forum (IFBF), to be held in in
Lausanne, Switzerland, from 10 to 12 July 2018.
The fourth Energy Storage Committee will be held
immediately prior to the event, on 9 July.
Vanitec is the only global vanadium
organisation dedicated to expanding markets
and promoting a stronger vanadium industry.
Established in 1972, Vanitec includes
companies and organisations involved in the
mining, processing, manufacture, research,
and use of vanadium and vanadium-
containing products.
The IFBF is a critical event in the energy
storage industry’s calendar. The 2018 IFBF
promises to bring together researchers,
academics, developers, manufacturers, and
customers of vanadium flow batteries to join
in a three-day conference, which includes
keynote presentations, oral presentations,
and panel discussions. The forum will also
provide network opportunities and include an
exhibition area.
Pacific Ocean
Fugro is commencing its first project
supporting deep-sea polymetallic
nodule mining under a contract
awarded by seafloor mineral
exploration company Nauru Ocean
Resources Inc. (NORI), a subsidiary
of DeepGreen Metals. In the deep
waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, its
specialist marine geoscience team will
perform detailed site characterisation
surveys.
The project, which began on
19 April, will advance NORI’s
polymetallic nodule project.
Polymetallic nodules are potato-sized
concretions enriched in nickel, copper,
and cobalt. These nodules also contain
metals and non-metals important to
green-tech enterprises, such as electric
vehicles and wind energy production.
The site characterisation surveys
will involve acquisition of high-
resolution imagery and geophysical
data, and sampling of minerals from
the seafloor. Fugro will also measure
geotechnical properties, catalogue the
mineral resource, and help NORI to
determine optimal mining areas. The
data acquisition and sampling will take
place in water depths of up to 4 500m
over a 400km2 area between the Clarion
and Clipperton fracture zones. The field
work will be accomplished using the
company’s Echo Surveyor VII autonomous
underwater vehicle (AUV) and
specialised seafloor sampling equipment.
Seabed exploration on the cards
Fugro will deploy its Echo Surveyor VII AUV and specialised seafloor sampling
equipment in the project to support NORI’s deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining.
According to Dan McConnell,
Fugro’s global product manager
for gas hydrates and marine
minerals, Fugro has much to offer
in terms of specialised ultra-
deep-water sur veys, resource
assessment, and oceanographic
and environmental studies. “ We
look for ward to working with
NORI and DeepGreen Metals and
demonstrating value through this,
our first-ever project to support
deep-sea polymetallic nodule
mining,” says McConnell.
JULY 2018 MINING MIRROR
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