FEASIBILITY OF TYPE OF DEEP-WATER TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE EXTRACTION OF MARINE FERRO-MANGANESE NODULES

Abstract

The conditions for the occurrence of near bottom minerals presented in the form of sulphides (the Logachev deposit) and ferro-manganese nodules (The conditions for the occurrence of benthic minerals presented in the form of sulphides (the Logachev deposit) and ferro-manganese nodules (FMN) are considered. An analysis of the structures and parameters of various means of collecting and transporting sulphides and iron ore from the bottom to the surface is given, and the possibility of effectively using vessel lifting on a cable-rope is indicated. Structural schemes for collecting FMN and sulphides in the form of containers on a cable, equipped with manipulators with gripping devices of a disc, drum or clamshell type, are proposed. In them, the capture of rock pieces or FMN is carried out by creating a vacuum in the collectors of the executive bodies and attracting to them pieces of rock or FMN by a pressure drop of water inside and outside the reservoir. It was given the approximate parameters of the mining system. So, for a cable-rope made of kevlar with a diameter of 50 mm, the capacity can be 200-400 thousand tons per year for one installation with different specific mass concentration of FMN per 1 m2) are considered.