In-Person and Livestream: Seafloor mining - Unlocking the world's largest untapped source of critical metals

Join the Southern Queensland Branch for their In-Person and Livestream tech talk: Seafloor mining - Unlocking the world's largest untapped source of critical metals.

About this event

The largest undeveloped resource of nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese lies in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii. Work by the Metals Company has determined a resource of 1.6 billion tonnes of nodules grading 3.2% Ni equivalent.  This talk will explore the technical challenges with offshore collection which were overcome during their 2022 trials bringing 3000 tonnes of nodules to the surface and industrial-scale smelting demonstrated by PAMCO in Japan this year by smelting 200 tonnes of nodules.  

The largest seafloor to surface environmental baseline and impact program comprising more than 100 individual studies involving more than 20 leading international research institutions shows that the environmental impacts of development are less than competing terrestrial sources of the metals in question.

All that has been missing until now is a regulator that is prepared to proceed with developing this exceptional resource… until now. On April 25^th President Donald Trump signed the “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources” Executive Order – which unleashes existing US legislation that was enacted in the 1980’s and provides a pathway to development.

Speaker/s

Tony O'Sullivan

FAusIMM

Chief Development Officer, The Metals Company
B.Sc Geology (Hons), MSc Geology

Read more Hide

Tony O’Sullivan has over 30 years mining experience with a track record of delivering innovative solutions across multiple continents both in the terrestrial and marine environments. He is an innovator in mining, who is part of The Metals Company because of his proven commitment to sustainable and ethical mining. As Chief Operating Officer of Nautilus he led exploration, engineering and design of the Solwara 1 Project in PNG. He is the named co-inventor on 5 subsea mining patents.