Development of seafloor mineral processing for Seafloor Massive Sulfides

Seafloor Massive Sulfides (SMSs), which are formed from hydrothermal fluids vented from seafloor, have been expected as one of future mineral resources. The authors have proposed the concept of seafloor mineral processing, where valuable minerals contained in SMS ores are separated on seafloor. Experimental studies were carried out to apply conventional mineral processing technologies such as ball mill grinding and column flotation to seafloor mineral processing. Experimental studies suggest that these technologies would be applicable to seafloor mineral processing. In addition, application of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to in-situ measurement of metal grade of ore particles in the mineral processing system was investigated. By adapting seafloor mineral processing to the mining scheme of SMSs, the mining costs are expected to be reduced significantly