Distribution characteristics of seamount cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts and the determination of the size of areas for exploration and exploitation

In 2001, the International Seabed Authority （ISBA） initiated the consideration relating to the Regulations for Prospecting and Exploration for Hydrothermal Polymetallic Sulphides and Cobalt-rich Ferromanganese Crusts in the Area at its 7th session. Since then, the consideration of the Regulations has been mainly focused on the size of areas to be allocated for exploration and exploitation of the crusts. This paper, based on the investigation data and the analysis of the distribution characteristics of the crusts, suggests a model for determining the size of areas for exploration and exploitation of the crusts, taking into account various factors such as production scale, crust thickness and grade, mineable area proportion, recovery efficiency, exploration venture, and so on. Through the modeling, the paper suggests that the exploration area （the area covered by each application for approval of a plan of work for exploration of cobalt-rich crusts） shall be 4 856 km2 and the exploitation area （the mine site area） shall be 1 214 km2, for 20 years of 1 million wet tonnes annual production.

Calcareous Nannofossils and Molecular Fossils in Cobalt-rich Crusts and their Response to the P/E Global Event

A biostratigraphic study on calcareous nannofossils from the CM3D06 Co-rich ferromanganese crust from the Magellan seamounts in the northwestern Pacific enabled estimation of depositional age. The bio-imprinting of calcareous nannofossils and other fossil species suggests six age ranges for the nannofossils： late Cretaceous, late Paleocene, （early, middle, late） Eocene, middle Miocene, late Pliocene, and Pleistocene. Gas chromatography （GC） and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） were used to test the Co-rich crusts, and a variety of molecular fossils were detected, such as chloroform bituminous ＂A＂ , n-alkane, isoprenoid and sterol. Peak carbon and molecular indices （such as C23-/C24＋, CPI, Pr/Ph, Pr/nC17, Ph/nCxs and j13C） indicate that the parent organic matter is dominated by marine phytoplankton and thallogen whereas there is little input of terrestrial organic matter. Researches on calcareous nannofossils, molecular fossils and molecular organic geochemistry data reveal that the Paleocene/Eocene （P/E） global event is recorded in the cobalt- rich crusts from the northwestern Pacific Ocean. A succession of biomes can be observed near the 85 mm boundary （about 55 Ma）, i.e., the disappearance of the late Cretaceous Watznaueria barnesae and Zigodicus spiralis, and Broisonia parka microbiotas above the P/E boundary, and the bloom of Coccolithus formosus, Discoaster multiradiatus, Discoaster mohleri and Discoaster sp. below the boundary. Typical parameters of molecular fossils, such as saturated hydrocarbon components and carbon-number maxima, Pr/Ph, Pr/C17, Ph/C18, distribution types of sterols, Ts/Tm ratios and bacterial hopane, also exhibit dramatic changes near the P/E boundary. These integrated results illustrate that the biome succession of calcareous nannofossils, relative content of molecular fossils and molecular indices in the cobalt-rich crusts near the 85 mm boundary faithfully record the P/E global event.

Noble Gas Isotopic Compositions of Cobalt-rich Ferromanganese Crusts from the Western Pacific Ocean and Their Geological Implications

Noble gas isotopic compositions of various layers in three-layered （outer, porous and compact layers） cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts and their basaltic and phosphorite substrates from the western Pacific Ocean were analyzed by using a high vacuum gas mass spectrum. The analytical results show that the noble gases in the Co-rich crusts have derived mainly from the ambient seawater, extraterrestrial grains such as interplanetary dust particles （IDPs） and wind-borne continental dust grains, and locally formation water in the submarine sediments, but different noble gases have different sources. He in the crusts derives predominantly from the extraterrestrial grains, with a negligible amount of radiogenic He from the eolian dust grains. Ar is sourced mainly from the dissolved air in the seawater and insignificantly from radiogenic Ar in the eolian continental dust grains or the formation water. Xe and Ne derive mainly from the seawater, with minor amounts of extraterrestrial Xe and Ne in the IDPs. Compared with the porous and outer layers, the compact layer has a relatively high 4He content and lower 3He/4He ratios, suggesting that marine phosphatization might have greatly modified the noble gas isotopic compositions of the crusts. Besides, the 3He/4He values of the basaltic substrates of the cobalt-rich crusts are very low and their R/R. ratios are mostly 〈0.1 R., which are similar to that of phosphorite substrates （0.087 R.）, but much lower than that of fresh submarine MORB （8.75±14 Ra） or seamount basalts （3-43 Ra）, implying that the basaltic substrates have suffered strong water/rock interaction and reacted with radiogenic ^4He and P-rich upwelling marine currents during phosphatization. The trace elements released in the basalt/seawater interaction might favor the growth of cobalt-rich crusts. The relatively low ^3He/^4He values in the seamount basalts may be used as an important exploration criterion for the cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.

Biomineralization of organic matter in cobalt-rich crusts from the Marcus–Wake Seamounts of the western Pacific Ocean

Organic matter in cobalt-rich crust （CRC） from the Marcus-Wake Seamounts of the western Pacific Ocean, Sample CM1D03, has been analyzed to understand the source, geochemistry and mineralization of organic matter, and the mineralization environment. Biomarkers, includingn-alkanes, isoprenoids, terpanes and sterols, have been detected in various layers of the CRC sample, using gas chromatography （GC） and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. The content of organic carbon （OC） and its stable isotope （δ13C）, and the combined features of the biomarkers show that the mineralized organic matter in CM1D03 CRC was mainly derived from microorganisms and lower plankton （e.g., bacteria and algae, respectively） from marine surface water, with some terrestrial higher plant components. The ratio of chloroform bitu-men ＂A＂： OC was high in the CRC, between 10.51 and 20.66, showing significant migration characteristics of n-alkanes. Four mineralization categories of organic matter were recognized based on GC chromatograms ofn-alkane molecules： （1） primitive type （bacteria and algae）, which is characterized by moderately mature ofn-alkanes preserving the original characteristics of the organic matter from microorganisms and lower plankton; （2） microbial degradation type, which is characterized by low contents ofn-alkanes and rising baseline in the chromatogram, with the ＂bulge＂ being the products of organic matter by biodegradation; （3） organic matter migration type, which is characterized by low carbon number ofn-alkanes withnC18 as the main peak carbon, without odd even predominance, and low concentrations of isoprenoids and hydro-carbons with high carbon number; and （4） organic matter hydrothermal type, which is characterized by relatively low concentration of small molecular weightn-alkanes, pristane, and phytane, accompanied by higher concentration ofn-alkanes with carbon number greater thannC18. This study shows that biomarkers can record controlling factors of mineralization and their variation.

Geochemistry of rare earth elements in cobalt-rich crusts from the Mid-Pacific M seamount

Rare earth elements（REEs） and major elements of 25 cobalt-rich crusts obtained from different depths of Mid-Pacific M seamount were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer and gravimetric method.The results showed that they were hydrogenous crusts with average ∑REE content of 2084.69 μg/g and the light REE（LREE）/heavy REE（HREE） ratio of 4.84.The shale-normalized REE patterns showed positive Ce anomalies.The total content of strictly trivalent REEs increased with water depth.The Ce content and LREE/HREE ratios in Fe-Mn crusts above 2000 m were lower than those below 2000 m.The change in REE with water depth could be explained by two processes：adsorptive scavenging by setting matters and behaviors of REE in seawater.However, the Ce abundance took no obvious correlation with water depth reflects the constant Ce flux.The Ce in crusts existed mainly as Ce（IV）, implying that the oxidative-enriching process was controlled by kinetic factors.

Morphological description and population structure of an ophiuroid species from cobalt-rich crust seamounts in the Northwest Pacific:Implications for marine protection under deep-sea mining

Many seamounts are covered with cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts,and are increasingly attracting interest for the potential extraction of valuable mineral resources from deep seabed environments.However,the impacts of potential mining activities on the vulnerable seamount ecosystem remain unclear.To enhance the understanding of connectivity in benthic invertebrate populations in the Northwest Pacific,several seamounts were surveyed and biological samples collected.In the present study,the ophiuroid species Ophioplinthaca defensor is reported for the first time from four deep seamounts in the Northwest Pacific,and described,providing more detailed morphological diagnosis characters.To assess the population structure of the species between and within seamounts,two mitochondrial markers(COI and 16 S)were sequenced.In total,20 haplotypes from 32 COI sequences and 8 haplotypes from 3716 S sequences were recovered.The star-shaped TCS networks and nonsignificant pairwise population differences reveal the absence of distinct population structures between and within seamounts.In addition,the O.defensor population seemed to have undergone a demographic expansion in history.This is the first study on the genetic population structure of a benthic invertebrate from seamounts in the Northwest Pacific,and this results suggest a potentially high,long distance dispersal capacity in O.defensor between seamounts,which could inform the development of the Regional Environmental Management Plans for the cobalt-rich crust seamounts in the area.

Resources calculation of cobalt-rich crusts with the grid subdivision and integral method

On the basis of three geological models and several orebody boundaries, a method of grid subdivision and integral has been proposed to calculate and evaluate the resources of cobalt-rich crusts on the seamounts in the central Pacific Ocean. The formulas of this method are deduced and the interface of program module is designed. The method is carried out in the software ＂Auto mapping system of submarine topography and geomorphology MBChart＂. This method and program will possibly become a potential tool to calculate the resources of seamounts and determine the target diggings for China＇ s next Five-year Plan.

Simulation of Cobalt-Rich Crust’s Crushing Process Based on ANSYS

It is a great concern in international oceanology to mine cobalt-rich crust. At present, spiral mining head is regarded as the best crushing scheme. Based on the dynamic model of spiral mining head, the of cobalt crust’s crushing process was simulated with the ANSYS software. The material model of Johnson and Cook Plasticity, maximal princi- pal stress failure criterion, and eroding contact arithmetic were selected. At the same time, the influence of cutting depth, feed speed, rotational speed of mining head on torque and force subjected by mining head was taken into account. At last a computer simulation model of crushing process of cobalt crust was established. By analyzing simulation results, the relationships among these controllable process parameters, torque and force can be obtained, which will provide a technical reference for practical mining system.

Distribution and Classification of Cobalt-Rich Crust

Based on the on the spot investigation and related data, cobalt rich crust is mainly distributed in the low latitude area near the equator, mostly within 20°S to 20°N, especially 5°-15°(S and N). The analysis of the microtopographic and microphysicognomy features shows that crusts are often present in the complicated topographic regions such as seamount slopes, convex parts of seamounts and joint faults, of which the ideal region is seamount slopes in water depth of 1 500-2 500 m. The authors analyze the relation of the crusts and their bedrock, bedrock type, crust thickness and occurrence, and then attempt to classify the crusts as different types.

机器学习:海底矿产资源智能勘探的新途径

海底蕴藏着丰富的关键矿产资源,是当前研究的热点,也是未来产业新领域。随着海洋探测技术的不断进步,海底矿产勘探的数据量和数据维数急剧增加,给数据处理与解释带来了巨大困难和挑战。面对海量数据,传统的数据解释与分析方法暴露出许多问题。机器学习以其强大的自学能力,为无法解决或难以解决的问题提供了一系列智能分析决策方案,提高了数据分析的效率,是海底矿产资源智能勘探的新途径。近年来,机器学习在地球科学领域获得了广泛的关注和研究。为此,围绕机器学习技术应用于海底资源勘探技术,本文首先简要介绍了机器学习中经典的模型算法,然后详细阐述了机器学习在海底能源矿产和金属矿产两个方面的应用现状,最后总结了机器学习在海底矿产智能勘探领域的应用前景,指出了现有研究中存在的问题,提出了解决方案和未来的发展方向。

Nanometer properties of oceanic polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich crusts

An ammonia leaching process was utilized to extract Co, Ni and Cu from oceanic polymetallic nodules, whereas an acid leaching process was utilized to extract Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn from cobalt-rich crusts. Both processes produced nanometer materials-ammonia leaching residue and acid leaching residue. A systematic study was conducted on the phase, composition and physicochemistry properties of these residues. The result shows that both residues contain a large amount of nanometer minerals. Ammonia leaching residue mainly consists of rhodochrosite, with the average grain diameter of 17.9 nm; whereas the acid leaching residue mainly consists of well-developed bassanite, with the average grain deameter of 9.5 nm. The bassanite also has a microporous structure, the volume of the pore space is 1.23×10-2 mL/g. Both the ammonia and acid leaching residues have a large specific surface area, and they display a strong adsorption capacity to saturate sodium chloride vapour, N2 and SO2. Both residues have high

富钴铜冶炼渣预浸—氧压浸出工艺研究

铜冶炼过程中产生的冶炼渣含有较多的铜、钴等有价金属,从冶炼渣中回收这些有价金属具有重要经济价值和环保意义。以Cu含量8.26%、Co含量1.52%的富钴铜冶炼渣为原料,采用预浸——氧压浸出工艺对其进行处理。系统考察了酸矿比、反应温度、反应时间、氧分压、液固比对Co、Cu、Fe浸出率浸出效果的影响,得出最佳工艺条件为:液固比3、反应温度230℃、反应时间1.5 h、酸矿比350 kg t、磨矿细度—0.074 mm占75%、氧分压0.2 MPa,在该条件下,Co、Cu、Fe浸出率分别达到98.38%、95.34%和2.07%。相较于常压浸出,该工艺能有效降低酸耗和浸液中铁离子浓度。

西太平洋维嘉海山埋藏型富钴结壳生长速率初步研究

富钴结壳是一种水成成因,生长在海底岩石或岩屑表面的皮壳状铁锰氧化物和氢氧化物,主要分布于CCD以上、最低含氧层(OMZ)中或以下800~2500 m水深之间的类叠层石结构,具典型的层状结构,奇特的韵律性生长剖面蕴含着其生长过程中所保留下来的比较完整的古海洋演化和古环境信息(任江波等,2013;王彦美等,2017)。

声学探测技术在富钴结壳勘探中的应用及展望

富钴结壳是深海固体矿产之一,其资源潜力巨大,已成为世界各国竞相调查的重要对象。声学探测技术作为一种海洋地球物理探测技术,因其在大面积调查和局部连续精细勘探方面的独特优势,在富钴结壳资源调查中得到了广泛应用。在搜集整理国内外相关文献的基础上,概述了富钴结壳的分布特征,分析传统勘探方法的不足,系统介绍多波束、侧扫声呐、浅地层剖面、原位高频测厚等声学探测技术在富钴结壳勘探中的应用现状。通过比较分析国内外声学探测技术发展现状以及未来富钴结壳勘探需求,提出3点未来发展趋势:开发一体化声学探测技术以实现海底特性的综合性测量;综合利用深海潜水器以实现近底高精度探测;深度融合大数据和人工智能技术以实现海量声学数据的智能化处理。

无钴富镍正极材料的火焰辅助喷雾热解合成与性能研究

锂离子电池富镍三元正极材料因其成本低、容量高的优势受到广泛关注,受限于钴的高毒性、低储量,富镍正极材料无钴化成为锂离子电池未来的发展趋势。传统液相法制备无钴富镍材料存在步骤繁琐、耗时长、副产物多等问题。火焰辅助喷雾热解(FASP)方法可一步合成正极材料,具有设备简单、耗时短、环境友好等优点。采用FASP方法制备LiNi_(0.8)Mn_(0.2)O_(2)(NM82)无钴富镍正极材料,探究合成条件对NM82结构、形貌和电化学性能的影响。结果表明,FASP可一步合成NM82正极材料,且其在载气流速1.5L/min、锂过量10%、退火温度800℃条件下的锂镍混排水平最低,放电比容量最高,在0.1C倍率下达到180.2mA∙h/g。

新型高镍无钴正极材料LiNi_(0.94)Mn_(0.04)Al_(0.02)O_(2)的合成研究

采用固相烧结工艺合成了层状高镍无钴正极材料LiNi_(0.94)Mn_(0.04)Al_(0.02)O_(2)(NMA),并研究了不同烧结温度对NMA正极材料的晶体结构、微观形貌和电化学性能的影响。结果表明,当烧结温度过低时,NMA正极材料的结晶度偏低,并在表面形成残锂。烧结温度过高则会导致层状结构变差和电极表面有害副反应增多。在最佳烧结温度750℃下合成的NMA-750材料具有良好的颗粒形貌、最少的锂镍混排和最完整的层状结构,同时具有最佳的电化学性能:首圈放电比容量(3.0~4.5 V,1 C)为199.5 mA·h/g,循环100圈后容量保持率可达79.04%;在5 C下仍具有147.6 mA·h/g的放电比容量,倍率性能优良。

中非铜钴矿带钴矿成矿特征和富集机理

中非铜钴矿带是世界上规模大、铜钴品位高的层控型铜钴矿带,以拥有大型超大型铜钴矿床和众多的世界级铜钴矿山而闻名于世。本文综述了该成矿带的基本地质特征和矿化类型,分析了Co的超常富集机理,指出了存在的问题。中非铜钴矿带位于非洲中南部的赞比亚和刚果(金)境内,全长700 km、宽150 km,包括赞比亚铜带省矿带、赞比亚西北省矿带和刚果(金)加丹加矿带。钴矿的形成经历了裂谷期成岩成矿作用(880~735 Ma)和造山期成矿作用(530~490 Ma),分别与新元古代加丹加沉积盆地的形成发展演化和卢富里安造山作用相对应。其成因类型包括同生沉积型钴矿床和热液改造型富钴矿床。沉积型钴矿在赞比亚境内发育,钴含量相对较低;热液改造型富钴矿床在刚果(金)境内更为发育,钴含量相对较高。钴与铜共生或伴生,主要含钴矿物为硫铜钴矿、方钴矿、硫钴矿、钴黄铁矿、水钴矿、钴华、菱钴矿等。Co的超常富集与由卤水在深部交代基底岩石(矿石)形成的富金属成矿流体通过迁移-富集-沉淀作用的多期次循环有关。矿床的氧化带、原生带分带明显,局部氧化深度达到300 m,表生氧化作用往往造成钴矿化富集。该区富钴矿床整体地质研究程度较低,原生铜钴矿的成矿物质来源、成矿环境特别是铜钴超常富集机理等方面的研究需要加强。

Variations of calcareous nannofossils of cobalt-rich crusts and geological records at the Eocene-OIigocene transition in western Pacific seamounts

Two records of the crust laminae from the Marcus-Wake Seamounts and the Magellan Seamount were biostratigraphically studied. Based on biological imprints of the calcareous nannofossils, the geological ages of the two records were determined, with CM1D03 from the Marcus-Wake Seamounts being of late Paleocene to Pleistocene and CM3D06 from the Magellan Seamount of Late Cretaceous(more than 70.0 Ma). There are the obvious temporal-spatial differences in the initial formation period and enrichment characteristics of the cobalt-rich crusts of the two seamount chains and differences in the combination and distribution of microfossils in the inner crust layers between the seamounts. These differences are due to the adaptabilities of oceanic species in different environments. Ecological research was carried out in terms of population size of the calcareous nannofossils preserved in the crustal layers to discern the relation of the geological events at the Eocene-Oligocene(E/O) transition. The results show the transitions and recombination of species in the biotic community during the E/O transition obviously corresponded to 25 mm depth in the CM1D03 crust and 58 mm depth in the CM3D06 crust. The changes in biological species and the formation of particular ecological structures indicate the adaptive response of the paleo-biological community in the western Pacific Ocean to the global cold-climate events and the close correlation between the formation of the crust and the global climate change.

海洋有色金属矿产地球物理勘探进展

随着对海洋矿物资源的勘探研究,人们意识到多金属结核、富钴结壳和多金属硫化物等是具有战略意义的海洋有色金属矿产。近年来,随着地球物理勘探技术的发展,勘探深度逐渐从浅海过渡到深海,加深了人们对深部有色金属资源的认识,深海有色金属资源逐步成为世界各国关注的热点。近十年来,我国在深海矿产资源领域的研究取得了一系列的重要进展。首先,本文主要介绍国内外海洋有色金属矿产的勘探现状,并且在原理基础、正反演技术方法等方面回顾了适用于深海环境的地球物理勘探方法的发展。然后,结合我国在太平洋的多金属结核勘探区、富钴结壳勘探区和在西南印度洋中脊的多金属硫化物矿勘探区的研究进展,归纳了海洋有色金属矿产的地球物理勘探方法及实例分析。