Activities and Economics of Existing Manganese Nodule Mining Consortia

Previous capital cost estimates for manganese nodule mining consortia have not discussed the specific assumptions underlying the estimates. This paper, based on a rigorous analysis of the published literature and various project fundamentals, details the capital cost estimates for the five major groups currently involved in research and development in manganese nodule mining, namely: The Kennecott consortium, Deepsea Ventures, The Inco consortium, The Lockheed consortium, and Afernod. The capital cost estimates are listed in a schedule of annual expenditures based on the best case development assumptions.