January 1984
·
21 Reads
·
11 Citations
Marine Mining
The design of methods for the mining of recently discovered deep-ocean hydrothermally deposited polymetallic sulfides requires a knowledge of their geotechnical engineering properties. The results of such a study of a small number of irregular, surficial chunk samples are presented. Based on the density, porosity, durability, hardness, compressive strength, and cutting properties of the samples, the most feasible method for mining would be some type of cutterhead and hydraulic lifting system. Further studies are required to determine how representative the surficial deposits are of mechanical properties within the basal mound. Refs.