Automatic control of submerged vertical hydraulical mineral transport from a depth of 2000 metres to the surface

The mined minerals, as demanded by industries in countries around the world are rising in cost and the price levels could make it economically feasible to mine submerged reserves That would require submersible mining systems to extract such. minerals from the sea bottom, if technical requirements and constraints, such as the environmental ones, can be met. To explore the possibilities if it is technically feasible to set up a reliable vertical transport system, IHC Merwede performed an in-house study to determine the critical factors that will determine a successful deep sea mining tool. We used as starting point the relevant experience with similar applications of the large operators in the dredging, mining and offshore industry. In addition an extensive technology scan was performed in the areas of electric, electronic and software applications and possible combinations thereof, to achieve safety, operational reliability and a low cost price per ton of mined minerals. A test depth of 2000 meters below sea level was assumed. One of the main targets for this development was to keep the introduction of new technologies to a minimum, because of risks, and pursue a maximum of proven and/or known technologies. It was concluded that the critical success factors could be divided into four (4) main categories: 1) Significant capital investments in a dedicated system will be unavoidable because there is no existing system. The hardware comprising all requirements has not yet been introduced in either the mining or the dredging world. However, most of the critical components were analyzed to already exist, or existing systems could be slightly modified for depths up to 2000 meters. A tantalizing tension field between "out-of-the-box-thinking" and known and available technology was mixed and matched to create a basic deep sea mining system that was considered both feasible as well as convincing. 2) The use of the latest state-of-the-art electrical, electronic and software technology was concluded to be a must, in view of the required capital investments to obtain the safest, most reliable and efficient operation, supported by efficient Life Cycle Support (LCS) during operations. This seems a logic step ahead when compared to other completely automated common dredging machines such as hopper dredgers and cutter suction dredgers. Investments exceeding $ 200 million apiece were allotted during the last years. Such dredgers are capable of pumping materials from a depth of more than 120 meters below sea level. The automation developed and tested will perform all these functions, while simultaneously keeping a close eye on safety and maintaining accuracy and efficiency. This complex task has been evaluated to be above and beyond ordinary human capability. 3) The technology sketched above will require a dedicated education and experience of the personal assigned. Existing educational institutes around the world do not meet these requirements. Experience during the last ten years taught that most capital investments in new machines are being accompanied with simultaneous investments (by either the manufacturer or the exploration companies) in simulator supported education systems for the to-be operators 4) Innovation by research and development efforts in critical areas, aided by tools like vessels able to withstand high pressures, with the aid of specialized departments of major universities and research institutes, play a major role by extending the technological boundaries in small steps every day. This does require visions and consistent effort to reach this goal and perform operations in areas unthinkable a few decennia ago. This paper describes results of these R&D processes, the investigation and development activities pertaining to extracting minerals from a depth of 2000 meters by the IHC Merwede companies during the last four (4) years.