Key points
- The sub-forum on key technologies for deep-sea mining and environmental protection was held on July 13 in Beijing during the 27th CAST Annual Meeting.
- It was organised by the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering, with academicians He Manchao and Du Shigui among the attendees.
- CRIMM chairman Zhuo Xiaojun chaired the reports session and said CRIMM is about to carry out a series of key sea trials; Li Maolin delivered a report on China’s deep-sea mining.
On July 13, the “Key Technologies for Deep-Sea Mining and Environmental Protection” sub-forum of the 27th Annual Meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) was successfully held in Beijing. The forum focused on breakthroughs in deep-sea mining technology and coordinated mechanisms for green development, pooling the industry’s wisdom to provide scientific support for the sustainable development of deep-sea resources and to advance technological progress and ecological protection practice. The forum was hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology and organized by the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering and its Marine Engineering Geological Hazard Prevention and Control Branch.
Leading experts in attendance included Chinese Academy of Sciences academician He Manchao; Chinese Academy of Engineering academician Du Shigui; Luo Hui, member of the CAST Party leadership group and director-general of its international cooperation department (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan affairs office); Han Xiqiu, senior researcher at the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources; and professor Jing Haihe of the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering. Zhuo Xiaojun, Party committee secretary and chairman of the Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CRIMM), attended and chaired the special reports session.
In the open exchange session, Zhuo Xiaojun said that, as a pioneer of deep-sea mining in China, CRIMM has always pursued innovation-driven development, pushing technology from the laboratory toward engineering application, and is about to carry out a series of key sea trials. CRIMM works deeply in deep-sea mineral lifting, processing and smelting, and intelligent mining technology, attaches equal importance to policy and innovation, and actively participates in international rule-making to promote the fair development of the global deep-sea governance system. He stressed that deep-sea mining requires global collaboration, and that CRIMM is willing to deepen cooperation with all sectors, opposes destructive competition within the industry, and hopes to jointly promote the industry’s high-quality development, contributing Chinese wisdom to humanity’s sustainable use of deep-sea resources.
China Minmetals chief technology expert Li Maolin delivered a special report titled “China’s Development Roadmap for Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development and Utilization Mining Technology,” systematically presenting China’s major breakthroughs in the field of deep-sea mining technology roadmaps and demonstrating a “Chinese path” from technological exploration to industrial application. Professor Jia Yonggang of Ocean University of China, professor Yang Jianmin of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and other experts delivered reports on frontier topics including environmental assessment for deep-sea mining and equipment development. Ten high-level special reports fully showcased China’s latest breakthroughs in deep-sea resources development and reflected the innovation advantages of deep integration among industry, academia, research, and application.
More than 80 experts and scholars took part in the exchanges, from universities, research institutes, and national key laboratories including Ocean University of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Third Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the China Geological Survey, Hunan University of Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), and the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
