18.07.2014 change 18.07.2014

Researchers brought metal ores from the bottom of the Pacific to Poland

Two tons of samples from the bottom of the Pacific, from which in two years metals will be obtained, have been brought to Poland by specialists from Interoceanmetal. The organization, members of which are Poland and few other countries, leases a piece of the ocean floor near Central America.

Poland joined the Interoceanmetal during the communist period, when the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) still existed. Interoceanmetal members are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cuba, Poland, Russia and Slovakia. The seat of the organization is Szczecin.

Interoceanmetal deals with research and preparation of mining technologies for obtaining the so-called nodules from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Nodules naturally occurring ore pellets, including manganese, copper, nickel, zinc, cobalt and molybdenum.

Director of Interoceanmetal, Tomasz Abramowski told PAP that specialists brought two tons of nodule samples, from which over the next two years metals will be obtained; at the same time, researchers will examine the viability of the process metallurgical processing of nodules.

Currently, the profitability of nodule mining still requires confirmation. Experts note, however, that with the reduction of fossil resources on land and rising prices, these resources represent an alternative source.

Abramoski estimates that mining of nodules could begin within ten years. He said that the biggest obstacle in this regard is currently unclear legal status of extraction from the seabed and environmental protection matters. Tests of extraction techniques are also necessary.

Test dozens of deep-water fauna samples, taken by the scientists during the expedition will help prepare procedures for the protection of the marine environment, and gain knowledge of the biological background of deposits.

It is estimated that the ore deposits on the Interoceanmetal plot at the bottom of the Pacific are worth several tens of billions of dollars. According to Abramowski, during the study the experts isolated another mining area of 3 800 km square, in which they confirmed the presence of tens of millions of tons of nodules.

In 2009, Polish geologists studied the resources of the Polish plot in the Pacific. The value of its ore deposits was estimated at approximately $ 40 billion.

In 1992, the International Seabed Authority, established by the UN Convention, awarded to Interoceanmetal a research plot located on the Pacific Ocean in the east region of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone near Mexico. The plot has an area of about 75 thousand square kilometres.

Nodules cover vast areas of the ocean floor at depths of 3800-5500 m.

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