Exploration Areas

Abstract

The concept of an exploration area, from a regulatory or legal point of view, is that of an area that can be held and explored exclusively by someone who has acquired a legal right to do so. The question of how large an exploration area for a future manganese nodule mining operation should be, is of concern not only to potential miners, but also to those who write laws and regulations governing seabed mining. In estimating the total area required for exploration, the potential nodule miner’s primary goals are to (i) confirm that the candidate deposit is in fact an economic deposit and (ii) to acquire the specific information pertinent to the confirmed ore body for the purposes of equipment design for mining and processing. In respect of confirming that the candidate deposit is an economic deposit, the nodule miner’s objective is to locate as many mineable areas within a potential mine site as he can. Since nodule grade and nodule abundance vary between oceans and within an ocean area, and the sea floor surface, as defined by the slopes and obstructions on it, is critical in the design of minimum technology, it is these considerations which determine whether patches within a potential mine site are even mineable.