Manganese Nodules, Crusts, Gas Hydrates, Sulphides and Ocean Energy:
Experts Met in Chennai, India at ISOPE OMS-2009 Symposium
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, September 30, 2009―The 8th ISOPE Ocean Mining Symposium (ISOPE OMS-2009) was held in Chennai during September 20th -24th 2009. The Symposium was co-sponsored by the International Society of Ocean and Polar Engineers (ISOPE) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).
Symposium featured recent developments in R & D activities from 11 countries. The presentations include some of today’s most compelling topics: Exploration, Mineral Processing, Ocean Energy, Environment, Gas Hydrates and Deep-Ocean Mining Systems and Technology.
The symposium was inaugurated on 21st September at NIOT campus by the chief guest, Dr. P.S. Goel, Chairman, Recruitment and Assessment Centre, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was followed by invited talks by esteemed speakers:
Dr. Harsh K. Gupta, former secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), on Gas Hydrates Research in India
Dr. S.K. Das, Director, NIOT and advisor, MoES on Deep Sea Mining - Indian Scenario
Prof. Jin S. Chung, ISOPE on Deep-Ocean Mining Technology -- Review III: Developments.
They presented 52 peer-reviewed papers and there were additional 6 oral presentations without written papers.
An exhibition of products, developed and proven in the field of ocean engineering was also organized.
The symposium focused on the importance of research done for exploring existing resources in deep ocean to meet our increasing energy requirement.
The initial step to start the mining process is exploring a proper site, which will furnish economical results with minimum risk. Innovations to maximize polymetallic nodule collection and recovery were discussed with implication of acoustic survey technologies for site selection. Moreover, before commencing the mining, the hazards and the disturbance caused to the ecosystem during the process should be addressed. Hence, autonomous devices for monitoring underwater environment were also discussed. The presentations on environment were summarized by Dr. Stoyanova, Poland/Bulgaria.
Presentations on best exploitation schemes of metal recovery from manganese nodules mined from deep ocean were summarized by Prof. Roonwal, India. The use of gas hydrates as a future source of energy was also discussed, and it included production simulation. The presentations were summarized by Dr. Komai, Japan. Papers were presented in 7 sessions on ocean energy, nodules, crusts and sulphides and various stages of oceanfloor mining — collection of nodules, lifting to the ocean surface, transportation to port and mineral processing. Nodule collection was summarized by Prof. Schwarz, Germany.
Progress discussed at the Symposium indicated that the technology for nodule mining has reached a stage where industries can get involved with researchers on a large scale.
About 300 members were involved in the organization of the symposium, including participants from 13 countries. The conference was a grand success in terms of acquiring technical knowledge and information about various interdisciplinary fields of ocean resources and opportunities for informal cultural exchange.
Proceedings of the 8th ISOPE Ocean Mining Symposium (ISBN 978-1-880653- 75-3, 308 pages) is available from International Society of Ocean and Polar Engineers (ISOPE): Download the publication order form from www.isope.org > Orders.
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Nidhi Varshney (NIOT), M.A. Atmanand (NIOT) and Jin S Chung (ISOPE)