Manganese Nodule Resources of Three Areas in the Northeast Pacific Ocean: With Proposed Mining-Beneficiation Systems and Costs. A Minerals Availability System Appraisal

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hillman CT
• Description:
  Principal objectives of this report are to (1) estimate tonnage and grade of deposits with significant potential and (2) describe and estimate profitability of operations designed to mine and process deposits with greatest apparent potential. Analysis of data from over 800 ship stations identified three areas for detailed study. Average metal contents of these areas range from 1.30 to 1.45 Wt pct nickel, 1.00 to 1.24 Wt pct copper, 0.21 to 0.26 Wt pct cobalt, and 26.8 to 27.8 Wt pct manganese. Estimated recoverable nodule resources are 67.0, 66.9, and 148.8 million dry metric tons (t). A system to mine, transport, and process nodules from the three sites is described and costed. Although hypothetical, the system utilizes hydraulic mining and cuprion (Kennecott) processing, which have been successfully tested at pilot scale. Nickel, copper, and cobalt are the three primary products, but ferromanganese is a considered option. Estimated capital requirements are approximately $1.5 To $1.7 billion for three-metal production. If ferromanganese were recovered, an additional investment of about $130 million would be required. Operating costs range from $71 to $83 per dry metric ton of nodules without manganese, and from $103 to $123 per dry metric ton with ferromanganese. Discounted cash flow analyses predict low returns, ranging from 2.7 to 5.2 pct with ferromanganese and from 4.1 to 6.0 pct without. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Subseries:
  Information Circular
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference Publications ; Pamphlet or Booklet
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WFOC - Western Field Operations Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-60
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10003003
• Citation:
  NTIS: PB83/265256; :1-60
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  NTIS: PB83/265256
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c8bb07e0c813d939db1a73644ff8d8854086eac78d9d0faa5a70ab0ffc3ecac802f56e6db072239ac34baf70bffcd64c43c687c8606c7540f1889dc2ac9df6f4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/235917/cdc_235917_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.04 MB ]