Japanese government to press ahead with robotic deep-sea mining

mineralresourcesexploration_01.jpgAccording to a January 8 report in Japanese newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, the development of mining technology able to extract gold, silver and rare metals lying untapped on the deep seafloor in Japanese territorial waters will start in 2011. By combining advanced technologies in robotics and deep-sea mining, the government aims to develop a mining system that will be among the world’s first deep-sea mining robots to excavate minerals, which will then be transported to a support ship on the surface via a pipe.The Japanese government will start experiments this year on a submerged test model, with a target of putting the system into commercial use in about ten years, according to the reports. The Natural Resources and Energy Agency will commission the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC), which is an independent administrative institution, to develop the system along with two private companies.

Target areas for deep-sea mining are hydrothermal deposits in the Izena submarine caldera in the Okinawa trough northwest of Okinawa Island, and the Bayonnaise submarine caldera off the Izu-Ogasawara island chain. Both areas are within Japan’s exclusive economic zone and are believed to be the world’s richest seabed deposits of gold, silver, rare metals and rare earth minerals.

The seafloor mining robot would be capable of operating at a maximum depth of 2km, equipped with a large drill and bladed excavating device, and would be remote-controlled from a support vessel. For movement, the robot would have either tracks or crablike legs. The cost of developing the entire system, including the support vessel, is estimated at over £230 million.