On the morning of August 29, the China Minmetals international seabed area survey voyage (China Ocean Voyage 47), organized and implemented by Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Co., Ltd. (CRIMM), departed Qingdao for the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone in the eastern Pacific to carry out survey tasks in the polymetallic nodule area. Li Bo, deputy director of the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (China Ocean Affairs Administration), offered congratulations on behalf of the State Oceanic Administration and set out expectations for the voyage. Li Fuli, member of the Party leadership group and deputy general manager of China Minmetals Corporation, laid out requirements for the voyage and announced the order to set sail. The departure mobilization meeting was chaired by Liu Ningwu, head of China Minmetals’ science and technology management department. CRIMM Party committee secretary and discipline inspection secretary Xie Jianguo and deputy general manager and chief financial officer Zhang Baozhong saw the expedition off at the Qingdao ocean research base.
China Minmetals Corporation signed a deep-sea polymetallic nodule exploration contract with the International Seabed Authority on May 12, making it China’s first, and currently only, enterprise contractor for deep-sea exploration areas. Its polymetallic nodule contract area is the fourth exclusive exploration area China has obtained in the international seabed. The program plans to spend 15 years conducting resource and environmental surveys across 72,000 square kilometers of eastern Pacific seabed, determining the distribution of polymetallic nodules and the geological characteristics of the deposits in the contract area, estimating inferred resources and locally controlled resources, and delineating a trial mining area.
This voyage is China Minmetals’ first at-sea survey expedition and an important voyage under the Jiaolong Explores the Sea program, lasting more than 90 days. It focuses on resource and environmental surveys, aiming to characterize in detail the distribution of polymetallic nodule resources and the geological setting of the contract area, delineate nodule-rich zones and accumulate environmental baseline data. Under the division of work, CRIMM is responsible for organization and implementation, while the Second Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration and the North China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration provide survey techniques and vessel support. The voyage is divided into two legs, with an expected 46 working days, and is scheduled to return to Qingdao on November 30. The 26-member scientific team brings together experts and core specialists in relevant fields from well-known Chinese research institutions and universities, mainly CRIMM, the Second Institute of Oceanography, the North China Sea Branch, the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Zhejiang Wanli University.
Zheng Yulong, deputy director of the Second Institute of Oceanography, and Sun Lijia, deputy director of the North China Sea Branch, attended the mobilization meeting and delivered remarks. Xie Jianguo read out the notice on the composition of the voyage’s temporary Party committee. He Gaowen, deputy chief engineer of the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, and Liu Changjiang, general manager of Qingdao Huayang Maritime Services Co., Ltd., also attended the departure meeting.
