EP3342976A1 - Système de levage de minéraux et procédé de levage de minéraux - Google Patents

Système de levage de minéraux et procédé de levage de minéraux Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3342976A1
EP3342976A1 EP16841180.9A EP16841180A EP3342976A1 EP 3342976 A1 EP3342976 A1 EP 3342976A1 EP 16841180 A EP16841180 A EP 16841180A EP 3342976 A1 EP3342976 A1 EP 3342976A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
mineral
mineral lifting
pipe
lifting pipe
seabed
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP16841180.9A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP3342976A4 (fr
Inventor
Tetsuzo Nagata
Yutaka Nakatani
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Individual
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Individual
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Filing date
Publication date
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Publication of EP3342976A1 publication Critical patent/EP3342976A1/fr
Publication of EP3342976A4 publication Critical patent/EP3342976A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F3/00—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines
    • E02F3/04—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven
    • E02F3/88—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven with arrangements acting by a sucking or forcing effect, e.g. suction dredgers
    • E02F3/90—Component parts, e.g. arrangement or adaptation of pumps
    • E02F3/905—Manipulating or supporting suction pipes or ladders; Mechanical supports or floaters therefor; pipe joints for suction pipes
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F3/00—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines
    • E02F3/04—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven
    • E02F3/88—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven with arrangements acting by a sucking or forcing effect, e.g. suction dredgers
    • E02F3/8858—Submerged units
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F5/00—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes
    • E02F5/006—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes adapted for working ground under water not otherwise provided for
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B17/00—Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Cables; Casings; Tubings
    • E21B17/01—Risers
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B17/00—Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Cables; Casings; Tubings
    • E21B17/01—Risers
    • E21B17/012—Risers with buoyancy elements
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21C—MINING OR QUARRYING
    • E21C50/00—Obtaining minerals from underwater, not otherwise provided for

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a mineral lifting system and a mineral lifting method for mining and mineral lifting of valuable metals and other mineral resources present on a seabed.
  • the mineral lifting apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 has an arrangement where a U-pipe, with one side being a downcomer and the other side being a riser (corresponding to a mineral lifting pipe), is held vertically from a deep seabed to a sea surface, seawater is transported from an upper end opening of the riser to an upper end opening of the downcomer so that the seawater circulates inside the U-pipe, mineral masses mined at the deep seabed are delivered to a bottom portion of the riser, and, the characteristic of the U-pipe that liquid levels at the opening portions at both ends are maintained at the same height is used to make the mineral masses ride on the rising seawater rising through the riser and float to the sea surface.
  • Patent Literature 1 Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-269070
  • the present invention has been invented in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a mineral lifting system and a mineral lifting method incorporating a pump system capable of conveying seawater, containing pulverized mineral ore, from a deep seabed to a mineral ore processing ship on a sea surface and being arranged so that a mineral lifting pipe, lowered to deep sea, will not drop off due to its own weight from a connection portion of a pipe body, etc., so that a mineral ore processing ship, etc., that supports the mineral lifting pipe does not have to be made larger than necessary to secure buoyancy, and so that when the sea is rough due to a typhoon, etc., the mineral lifting pipe will not become damaged due to rocking by waves of the mineral ore processing ship, etc., and the mineral ore processing ship, etc., will not have to discard the mineral lifting pipe in leaving for safety.
  • the present invention is one where the mineral lifting pipe and a communication/electric power cable are supported by a float to lighten a gravitational force on the mineral lifting pipe.
  • the present invention may incorporate a large float, which is made of metal, is buoyant on the sea surface, and has a cavity in its interior, and a mineral lifting pipe and a communication/electric power cable that are supported by the float, and may also incorporate a large float, having seawater draining and seawater intake valves for buoyancy adjustment to accommodate the weight of the mineral lifting pipe.
  • the large float can be made to have a submerging function.
  • a set of small floats installed at intermediate portions of the mineral lifting pipe sea undersea, may also be included.
  • a mineral lifting pipe made of resin reinforced with carbon fibers to lighten weight and maintain strength, may be included.
  • a mineral lifting pipe having a cavity in a gap of a double pipe may be included.
  • a structure may be arranged with which the mineral lifting pipe and the communication/electric power cable that are supported by a large float can be disengaged from a mineral ore processing ship during rough weather or when the mineral ore processing ship leaves a site.
  • a system may be arranged where a mineral ore conveying pump is made to ride on (is installed on) a seabed mineral ore mining machine and an intake pipe is shortened.
  • a pump system which injects pressurized water into an intermediate portion of the mineral lifting pipe to supply fluid energy, may also be included.
  • an electric type or permanent magnet type magnet apparatus arranged to collect mineral ore from seawater, which contains pulverized mineral ore (finely granulated mineral ore) and is conveyed from the mineral lifting pipe to the mineral ore processing ship on the sea surface, may be included.
  • an apparatus that performs wastewater processing after mineral ore collection may be equipped on the mineral ore processing ship.
  • the present invention can provide a mineral lifting system and a mineral lifting method incorporating a pump system capable of conveying seawater, containing pulverized mineral ore, from a deep seabed to a mineral ore processing ship on a sea surface and being arranged so that a mineral lifting pipe, lowered to the deep seabed, will not drop off due to its own weight from a connection portion of a pipe body, etc., so that a mineral ore processing ship, etc., that supports the mineral lifting pipe does not have to be made larger than necessary to secure buoyancy, and so that when the sea is rough due to a typhoon, etc., the mineral lifting pipe will not become damaged due to rocking by waves of the mineral ore processing ship, etc. , and the mineral ore processing ship, etc., will not have to discard the mineral lifting pipe in leaving for safety.
  • a pump system capable of conveying seawater, containing pulverized mineral ore, from a deep seabed to a mineral ore processing ship on a sea surface and being arranged so that
  • a mineral lifting system S includes a mining unit 1, which performs mining of minerals at a seabed, a mineral lifting unit 2, which lifts the mined minerals and seawater to above a sea surface, and a sorting unit 3, which is a mineral sorting portion that sorts valuable minerals from a solid-liquid mixture lifted by the mineral lifting unit 2.
  • the mining unit 1 has a seabed working machine 13 that can be externally operated to move.
  • the seabed working machine 13 includes a crawler traveling machine 130, an excavator 131, installed on an upper portion thereof, and a slurry pump 132, which sucks in and pumps the solid-liquid mixture containing the mineral, obtained by excavation, and seawater.
  • the seabed working machine 13 is arranged with a structure capable of working under high pressure at a deep seabed by making respective portions highly watertight, etc.
  • the slurry pump 132 together with respective pressure injection pumps 24 to be described later, constitutes a pump system.
  • the excavator 131 is arranged to be capable of pulverizing and excavating minerals of a mineral deposit by rotation or vibration of a drill at a tip. Another structure may be adopted instead for the excavator.
  • the slurry pump 132 is capable of pumping the mixture (solid-liquid mixture) of the excavated and pulverized minerals and seawater and, for example, a diagonal flow type or a mixed flow type may be adopted.
  • the slurry pump 132 is not restricted in particular in pumping capability and suffices to have a capability of being able to lift the solid-liquid mixture of seawater and the pulverized minerals to above the sea surface, at least in cooperation with the pressure injection pumps 24 that are auxiliary pumps to be described later.
  • a conveying energy from the slurry pump 132 to a lower portion of a mineral lifting pipe 21, to be described later may be supplied by the slurry pump 132, and a conveying energy inside the mineral lifting pipe 21 further upward may be supplied by the pressure injection pumps 24, which are a plurality of auxiliary pumps to be described later that are provided at intermediate portions of the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • an electric power cable 12 arranged to supply electric power to power the crawler traveling machine 130, the excavator 131, and the slurry pump 132, is connected to an electric power receiving portion (symbol omitted) .
  • An end portion at a side of the electric power cable 12 above the sea surface is connected once to a float 11 floating on the sea surface and a weight of the electric power cable 12 is thus supported by the float 11.
  • an auxiliary float that imparts buoyancy may be mounted in the same manner as with the mineral lifting pipe 21 to be described later.
  • Electric power from a generator (not shown), which is an electric power supplying portion installed on a working ship 10, which is a mother ship, is arranged to be supplied via an electric power cable 120 to the electric power cable 12 connected to the float 11.
  • a signal cable (not shown), which exchanges signals for performing control of the excavator 131, control of the crawler traveling machine 130, or control of the slurry pump 132 of the seabed working machine 13, etc., with a control portion included in the working ship 10, is installed on the power cables 12 and 120 in a form of being attached thereto.
  • the mineral lifting unit 2 has the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • the mineral lifting pipe 21 is formed by connecting a large number of pipe bodies 210 of predetermined length to a length, for example, of 5000 m in correspondence to a depth of a sea area to be subject to mineral lifting work.
  • the structure of each pipe body 210 shall be described in detail later.
  • the long mineral lifting pipe 21 is practically connected to a main float 20 so as to be hung thereon with an upper end side floating on the sea surface. Also, at an undersea side, the mineral lifting pipe 21 is practically connected to auxiliary floats 22 so as to be hung thereon at every predetermined interval in a length direction (at every pipe body 210 in the present embodiment) .
  • the main float 20 has a sealed case 200 with a structure that is watertight and hollow.
  • An outer shape of the sealed case 200 is a so-called donut shape and a space portion 201 is formed in an interior so as to draw a circle in plan view.
  • a through hole 202 of circular hole shape which is separated by a wall portion from the space portion 201, is provided so as to penetrate through a central portion of the sealed case 200.
  • the space portion 201 inside the sealed case 200 is divided into upper and lower portions in a liquid-tight state by a separating member 203 that is fixed across an entire circumference at a substantially middle position in an up/down direction.
  • a water feeding/draining pump 204 which is fixed to the separating member 203 and constitutes a water feeding/draining apparatus, is disposed in an upper space portion 201a.
  • a battery 205 is disposed that is fixed to the separating member 203, and as the battery 205 in the present embodiment, a waterproof lithium storage battery is adopted and supplies electric power to the water feeding/draining pump 204.
  • the battery 205 is connected to a control board 206, and an electric power cable 26 is connected from the exterior to the control board 206.
  • the electric power cable 26 is connected to a generator (not shown), which is an electric power supplying portion installed on a mineral processing ship 30 to be described later, and electric power supplied from the generator is stored in the battery 205.
  • a lower space portion 201b which is divided by the separating member 203 inside the sealed case 200, is a water storage tank, and an arrangement is made so that a water amount (and if necessary an air amount) in an interior of the lower space portion 201b can be adjusted by the water feeding/draining pump 204.
  • the main float 20 can be made to float on the sea surface by increasing its buoyancy or can be made to submerge by decreasing the buoyancy as necessary.
  • the submerging may be performed so that just the main float 20 becomes submerged or so that an entirety, including the mineral lifting pipe 21, becomes submerged and a selection can be made as suited.
  • a GPS receiver 207 which receives signals from a GPS satellite 27, is installed on an upper surface of the sealed case 200. Electric power is arranged to be supplied via the electric power cable 26 to the GPS receiver 207 as well. Also, a plurality of propulsion machines 208, which constitute a position correcting apparatus, are mounted to a lower surface of the sealed case 200. Each propulsion machine 208 has a structure by which a propulsive force is obtained by rotating a screw by a motor.
  • the arrangement of the position correcting apparatus includes the control board 206, which is a control portion capable of comparing position information, obtained by the GPS receiver, and basis position information, determined in advance, and actuating the respective propulsion machines 208 based on the difference to correct a position.
  • the respective propulsion machines 208 are arranged to be supplied with the electric power from the battery 205, and by suitably combining and driving the respective propulsion machines 208 by automatic control based on GPS, the main float 20 can be moved in a predetermined direction on the sea surface.
  • a pipe body 210 at an upper end portion of the mineral lifting pipe 21 is passed through the through hole 202 of the sealed case 200.
  • Each of the large number of pipe bodies 210 that constitute the mineral lifting pipe 21 has the structure shown in Fig. 5 .
  • Each pipe body 210 has connection flanges 211 and 212 at respective ends in a length direction and the pipe portion has a double pipe structure constituted of an inner pipe 213 and an outer pipe 214.
  • An outer diameter of the outer pipe 214 of the pipe body 210 is formed to a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the through hole 202 of the sealed case 200, and a gap 209 is provided between the pipe body 210 and the through hole 202. Also, with the uppermost pipe body 210, the flange 211 (attached after inserting the pipe body 210 through the through hole 202) is at an upper side of the sealed case 200 and a compression coil spring 28, which is made gradually smaller in diameter at an upper portion side, is disposed between the upper surface of the sealed case 200 and the flange 211.
  • the pipe body 210 and the large number of other pipe bodies 210 connected therebelow are cushioned by an energizing force of the compression coil spring 28 even upon moving up and down, and impacts and large loads applied to the main float 20 can be lightened. Also, by an action of the gap 209, the pipe body 210 is made capable of moving freely or swinging within a certain fixed range in an interior of the through hole 202.
  • a flexible supply pipe 25 is connected to an upper end of the pipe body 210 at the upper end portion, and a tip side of the supply pipe 25 is introduced into the sorting unit 3 to be described later.
  • the mineral lifting pipe 21 is arranged by connecting the large number of pipe bodies 210 in watertight manner, and one end portion of a flexible relay pipe 23 of predetermined length is connected to a lower end portion of a lowermost pipe body 210. Another end portion of the relay pipe 23 is connected to a discharge port (symbol omitted) of the slurry pump 132.
  • An intake port (symbol omitted) of the slurry pump 132 is disposed at a vicinity of a drill of the excavator 131 and is made capable of sucking in excavated and pulverized minerals together with seawater.
  • each auxiliary float 22 has a sealed case 220 with a structure that is watertight and hollow.
  • An outer shape of the sealed case 220 is a so-called donut shape and a space portion 221 is formed in an interior so as to draw a circle in plan view.
  • a through hole 222 of circular hole shape which is separated by a wall portion from the space portion 221, is provided so as to penetrate through a central portion of the sealed case 220.
  • An outer diameter of the outer pipe 214 of each pipe body 210 is formed to a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the through hole 222 of the sealed case 220, and a gap 229 is provided between the pipe body 210 and the through hole 222.
  • a specific structure of the auxiliary float 22 is not shown, it is a structure (known structure) that enables installment in a fitting manner onto and detachment from a pipe portion of the pipe body 210 in a lateral direction.
  • the large number of auxiliary floats 22 are capable of sliding relative to the respective pipe bodies 210 even when the respective pipe bodies 210 move up and down, and the sliding relative to each other stops when an auxiliary float 22 contacts the flange 211 of a pipe body 210 or contacts an injection pipe 241 of a pressure injection pump 24 to be described below.
  • each pipe body 210 is made capable of moving freely or swinging within a certain fixed range in an interior of the through hole 202.
  • the respective auxiliary floats 22 are capable of imparting a predetermined buoyancy to the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • This buoyancy may be set, for example, to be the same as a weight of the mineral lifting pipe 21 so that the weight of the mineral lifting pipe 21 is hardly applied to the main float 20.
  • the buoyancy may be set to be slightly less than the weight of the mineral lifting pipe 21 so that the weight of the mineral lifting pipe 21 is applied suitably to the main float 20 and the mineral lifting pipe 21 is more stabilized undersea.
  • An auxiliary float 22 that is positioned in a deep sea may include a rib structure for reinforcement in its interior as in an auxiliary float 22a to be described later so as to withstand high water pressure.
  • Each pressure injection pump 24 sucks in seawater in its surroundings and injects it into an interior of the mineral lifting pipe 21 and assists upward conveying (pumping) of the lifted water (solid-liquid mixture) passing through the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • Each pressure injection pump 24 is arranged to be maintained at a predetermined depth by being imparted with a buoyancy of a float 242 connected by a suspending wire 243. Also, electric power is suppled to each pressure injection pump 24 via an electric power cable 240 connected to the generator on the mineral processing ship 30 that is the working ship. A float for imparting buoyancy may also be attached to the electric power cable 240.
  • the electric power cable 120 connecting the working ship 10 to the float 11, is of a structure enabling disconnection from the float 11.
  • the mineral processing ship 30 is of a structure capable of disconnecting the supply pipe 25 and the electric power cable 26 from the main float 20.
  • the sorting unit 3 is installed on the mineral processing ship 30.
  • the generator (not shown) is installed on the mineral processing ship 30 and this generator supplies electric power to the main float 20 and the respective pressure injection pumps 24.
  • the sorting unit 3 sorts valuable minerals from the solid-liquid mixture of seawater and pulverized minerals lifted by the mineral lifting unit 2.
  • Fig. 4 shall now be referenced.
  • the sorting unit 3 includes, in the order of processing, a sorting tank 31, a sedimentation tank 32, a water storage tank 33, and a collection tank 34.
  • the sedimentation tank 32, the water storage tank 33, and the collection tank 34 constitute a wastewater processing apparatus.
  • the solid-liquid mixture that contains the pulverized minerals 50 is conveyed to the sorting tank 31 from the supply pipe 25.
  • Pulverized minerals 50 that are magnetic materials are magnetized and collected by an electromagnet (symbol omitted) mounted to a tip of an arm of a rotating body 311. Minerals that are not magnetic materials and other valuable minerals are collected by any of various known means, for example, by using a sieve, etc.
  • seawater containing sludge which has passed through the sorting tank 31, is conveyed to the sedimentation tank 32 upon passing through a screen 320 and the sludge sediments to a tank bottom and is thereby separated.
  • the seawater removed of the sludge is conveyed to the water storage tank 33 upon passing through a screen 331 and is conveyed to the subsequent collection tank 34 by a pump 330.
  • finer sludge is made to sediment by chemical processing, etc., and is thereby removed, and the clarified seawater after processing is made to pass through a drain pipe 35 and be discharged to the exterior (sea) by a waterwheel 340.
  • the seabed working machine 13 is disposed at a prescribed deep seabed 4 with a mineral deposit 5 and the main float 20 floats on the sea surface.
  • the seabed working machine 13 is operated by signals from a control portion on the working ship 10 and using the electric power supplied via the electric power cable 120 to perform excavation by means of the excavator 131 while moving by means of the traveling machine 130.
  • the mixture (solid-liquid mixture) of the pulverized minerals 50 (shown in Fig. 4 ) and seawater is sucked in and pumped upward, from the relay pipe 23 and through the mineral lifting pipe 21, by the slurry pump 132.
  • energy due to water flows is injected by the large number of pressure injection pumps 24 into a vertical direction path of the mineral lifting pipe 21, the solid-liquid mixture is lifted to the sorting unit 3 on the mineral processing ship 30 at the upper side, and just the clarified processed water is dumped to the sea.
  • auxiliary floats 22 are connected to the mineral lifting pipe 21 and impart the prescribed buoyancy to the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • a buoyancy that is approximately such that the long mineral lifting pipe 21 of several thousand meters will not drop to the seabed 4 is imparted to the mineral lifting pipe 21 by the main float 20 and the respective auxiliary floats 22.
  • a predetermined number (a large number) of the auxiliary floats 22 are disposed in the length direction of the mineral lifting pipe 21, and therefore the weight of the mineral lifting pipe 21 is sharingly supported according to the pipe bodies 210 by the auxiliary floats 22.
  • each auxiliary float 22 is made to impart a buoyancy corresponding to just the weight of a length of the mineral lifting pipe 21 between each auxiliary float 22, the load of the long mineral lifting pipe 21 can, in theory, be prevented from acting on an upper portion of the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • the auxiliary floats 22 By thus making an appropriate buoyancy be imparted by the auxiliary floats 22, a large load in the gravity direction will not act biasedly on a certain portion.
  • the above arrangement is thus also effective in terms of making the load be applied evenly at predetermined intervals in the length direction of the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • the mineral lifting pipe 21 can be prevented from breaking in the middle due to its own large load and destruction of a connection portion of a pipe body 210, etc., can be prevented so that a problem of the mineral lifting pipe 21 dropping to the seabed will not occur.
  • the total buoyancy of the main float 20 and the respective auxiliary floats 22 that float the mineral lifting pipe 21 is set as suited, a buoyancy sufficient to make the uppermost main float 20 float on the sea surface is not necessarily required, and it is preferable for the buoyancy to be such that at least the lower end portion of the mineral lifting pipe 21 can be made buoyant so as to be maintained in a state of not dropping to the seabed, that is, in a state of being adrift undersea without sinking. Also, it is preferable for the buoyancy to be such that can maintain a state where, even if the lower end portion side of the mineral lifting pipe 21 contacts the seabed, at least a further upper portion side is vertically buoyant undersea.
  • the mineral lifting pipe which is a heavy object, is imparted with buoyancy by the main float and the respective auxiliary floats so that the working ship 10 or the mineral ore processing ship 30 that performs control of the mineral lifting system is not necessarily required to support the mineral lifting pipe, and therefore there is no need to make the ships large.
  • the practical weight of the mineral lifting pipe 21 will be heavier because the weight of the solid-liquid mixture conveyed through its interior is added thereto. Therefore, the buoyancy provided by the respective floats 2 and 22 must be set in consideration of this point and must not be set on the basis of the weight of the empty mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • the main float 20 can be adjusted in buoyancy by adjusting the amount of water in its interior by means of the water feeding/draining pump 204. A portion of the main float 20 can thereby be exposed from the sea surface or the entirety can be sunken below the sea surface, for example, like a submarine. Also, when made to sink, the main float 20 can be adjusted in height (depth) below the sea surface.
  • the main float 20 When the main float 20 is sunken below the sea surface, the main float 20 is made less likely to be influenced by waves. For example, if, when the weather is rough, as in a typhoon or when a typhoon approaches, the main float 20 is kept floating on the sea surface, it will receive the influence of violent waves and undergo up/down motion and rolling repeatedly, thereby increasing a possibility of deformation or damage of a mounting portion of the mineral lifting pipe 21 connected to the main float 20 or a peripheral portion thereof.
  • Waves at the sea surface occur from several meters to approximately 10 m below the sea surface in many cases, and therefore if the main float 20 can be maintained, by remote operation, to be buoyant at a deeper position together with an upper portion of the mineral lifting pipe 21 and floating up of the main float 20 thereafter is made possible, the influence of waves can mostly be avoided even in a typhoon.
  • the main float 20 includes the GPS receiver 207 and the propulsion machines 208 and a GPS can thus be used to maintain the position of the mineral lifting system S that has been set in advance. That is, the position information, indicating the position of the mineral lifting system, is acquired by the GPS receiver 207 installed on the main float 20, and the position information, which is set in advance and serves as the basis, and the position information acquired by the GPS receiver 207 are compared by means of the position correcting apparatus.
  • the position correcting apparatus performs correction of position by actuating the respective propulsion machines 208 so that the position of the main float 20 is maintained at the position (set position) serving as the basis or made to approach (move toward) the position serving as the basis.
  • the correction of position may be performed constantly during the operation of the mineral lifting system S or may be performed at every fixed time interval (intermittently).
  • the seabed working machine 13 may be used upon being placed on the seabed in a region that not only has valuable minerals, such as noble metals, rare metals, etc., present on the seabed surface 4 or below the seabed at a water depth, for example, of several thousand meters, but also has large amounts of useful resources, such as methane hydrate (for example, near-surface methane hydrate), which is a fossil fuel, etc.
  • the mineral lifting system S is also usable as a system that lifts such useful resources other than minerals from a deep seabed to above a sea surface.
  • Fig. 6 shows another structure of a pipe body that constitutes the mineral lifting pipe used in the mineral lifting system.
  • a pipe body 210a has a double pipe structure, with which an outer pipe 214a of an inner pipe 213a, made of steel, is formed integrally from acrylic resin reinforced with carbon fibers.
  • the pipe body 210a is thereby made light in weight and increased in tensile strength.
  • flanges 211a and 212a are provided at respective end portions of the pipe body 210a.
  • An auxiliary float 22a shown in Fig. 7 has a sealed case 220a, formed to be watertight and having an outer shape that is a circular columnar shape.
  • reinforcing ribs 225 In a space portion 221a in an interior of the sealed case 220a, reinforcing ribs 225, arranged by combining ribs horizontally and vertically, are provided so as to be fixed to an inner surface of the sealed case 220a.
  • the auxiliary float 22a is mounted to the mineral lifting pipe 21 via a coupling member 226. A prescribed buoyancy is thereby imparted to the mineral lifting pipe 21.
  • the auxiliary float 22a can secure the space portion and maintain the prescribed buoyancy without collapsing under deep sea high pressure.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Drilling And Exploitation, And Mining Machines And Methods (AREA)
EP16841180.9A 2015-08-28 2016-04-06 Système de levage de minéraux et procédé de levage de minéraux Withdrawn EP3342976A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2015182281 2015-08-28
PCT/JP2016/061280 WO2017038148A1 (fr) 2015-08-28 2016-04-06 Système de levage de minéraux et procédé de levage de minéraux

Publications (2)

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EP3342976A1 true EP3342976A1 (fr) 2018-07-04
EP3342976A4 EP3342976A4 (fr) 2019-08-07

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US (1) US20180187395A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP3342976A4 (fr)
JP (1) JP6208401B2 (fr)
KR (1) KR102019197B1 (fr)
CN (1) CN107075946A (fr)
AU (1) AU2016314824A1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2964213A1 (fr)
TW (1) TW201736199A (fr)
WO (1) WO2017038148A1 (fr)

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WO2021197784A1 (fr) * 2020-04-02 2021-10-07 Soil Machine Dynamics Limited Appareil pour la séparation d'un matériau nodulaire d'un matériau non nodulaire et l'élimination d'un matériau du fond d'une masse d'eau

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CN107075946A (zh) 2017-08-18
US20180187395A1 (en) 2018-07-05
KR20180035891A (ko) 2018-04-06
WO2017038148A1 (fr) 2017-03-09
KR102019197B1 (ko) 2019-11-04
AU2016314824A1 (en) 2018-03-08
EP3342976A4 (fr) 2019-08-07

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