The Metals Company

Key points TMC’s commercial system adds a hydrocyclone step to the dewatering process to filter out abraded nodule fragments below one millimeter, so the return water consists of sediment and water only. Separated sediment is released through a return pipe at a depth of 2,000 meters, a…

Key points Allseas’ diffuser system releases excess water used in nodule collection back into the environment, returning up to 95% of entrained sediment at the diffuser level before it can enter the riser system. The diffuser slows and concentrates the exiting flow, promoting formation…

Key points Inside the collector vehicle, nodules and sediment pass through pumps into a hopper, where differential flow rates tumble the nodules so sediment separates from them at the seabed. Because nodules are heavier, they sink to the bottom of the hopper while 95-98% of sediment…

Key points The video shows the Glomar Explorer now carrying an advanced-design robot miner, ready for testing. TMC says nodule deposits can be found and estimated without extensive prospecting, using sonar and TV imaging. Fifty years after nodule collection technology was first pioneered,…

Key points Less than 4% of the carbon sequestered in the ocean is stored on the seafloor, with most held in the water column, according to Dr. Michael Clarke, TMC’s Environmental Manager. TMC says there is no known pathway for carbon disturbed at 4,000 meters to reach the surface and…

Key points Buoyancy modules cut the collector vehicle’s effective weight from about 90 tons in air to roughly 15 tons on the seabed, letting it maneuver with a low footprint. Post-pilot surveys showed the collector disturbed only the top sediment layer, leaving ripples just a few…

Key points TMC’s Allseas-designed collector uses Coanda nozzles, a concept dating to the 1970s, that generate lift through curved flow to pick up nodules without digging or dredging the seabed. The system targets two impact zones: the benthic plume at the seafloor and the mid-water…