Key points
- The workshop covered processing technologies for metal recovery, economic feasibility, impacts on terrestrial mineral supplies, environmental issues, and the ISA’s regulatory role.
- Participants split into three working groups addressing processing technology and waste disposal, economic feasibility, and environmental concerns.
- Attendees included contractors, representatives of sponsoring States, universities and science organizations.
- Participants toured the Glogow Copper Smelter, which comprises the Glogow I and Glogow II plants and produces 99.99% pure electrolytically refined copper cathodes.
The workshop was focused on the following topics: Processing technologies (metal recovery); Economic feasibility of mining seabed minerals; Impact of seabed mining on terrestrial mineral supplies; Environment – clean marine technology, waste disposal and recycling; International cooperation, regulations and role of the ISA as regulator. Contractors, representatives of sponsoring States, universities and science organizations took part in this event.
The workshop participants divided themselves into thre working groups. The first working group addressed the issues of R&D in processing technologies and metal recovery, comprehensive utilization and waste disposal. The second working group addressed the economic feasibility issues, such as economic consequences of different processing options, the cost model, global metal market, supply and demand, techno-economic feasibility and different structures of venture camparison. The third working group was organized for the discussion of the environmental concern including the isue of waste disposal, the choice and determination for locating processing plant.
While the meeting, all participants had the opportunity to visit Glogów Copper Smelter. The Głogów copper smelter comprises two separate metallurgical plants – Głogów I and Głogów II. Different smelting technologies are currently applied in these two smelters (Głogów I is being updated with the same modern flash furnace technology as Głogów II), the participants could see the final product electrolytically refined 99.99% pure copper in the form of cathodes.
