NOAA Activities in Marine Mining

NOAA's marine minerals program is an holistic one combining service and research carried out in-house, or in cooperative extramural programs with universities and industry. Elements cover work leading to better definition of the resource, technology to develop it, understanding of the ecosystem in which the resource occurs, and regulatory means facilitating its recovery. In all cases the goal is better data and improved knowledge objectively delivered to the marine community in support of the goals of the Department of Commerce to promote new commercial uses of marine resources. In NOAA's view, these objectives have been met for sand and gravel, and are moving along well in the case of manganese nodules. With respect to marine polymetallic sulfides, we are in a nascent state but moving forward on a broad front.