• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.781-792
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• 2020

Mine tailings, which are inevitably formed by the development of manganese nodules, manganese crusts, and hydrothermal seafloor deposits, have attracted attention because of their quantity and potential toxicity. However, there is a lack of data on the quantity of mine tailings being generated, their physicochemical properties, and their effects as environmental hazards and on marine ecosystems in general. The importance of treating mine tailings in an environmentally friendly manner has been recognized recently and related reduction/treatment methods are being considered. In the case of deep-sea mineral resource development, if mine tailings cannot be treated aboard a ship, the issue becomes one of the cost of transporting them to land and solving the problem of environmental pollution there. Therefore, the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology conducted research on the harmfulness of mine tailings, their effect on marine ecosystem, the diffusion model of contaminated particles, and candidate purification treatment technologies based on five representative controlling factors: 1) effects of pollution /on the environment, 2) effects of environmental/ biological hazards, 3) diffusion of particles, 4) mineral dressings, and 5) reducing/processing mine tailings. The results of this study can provide a basis for minimizing environmental problems by providing scientific evidences of the environmental effects of mine tailings. In addition, it is also expected that these results could be applied to the treatment of pollutants of different origins and at land-based mining waste sites.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.383-394
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• 2014

The surface sediments from the manganese nodule exploration area of Korea in the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone were investigated to understand the resource potential of and emplacement mechanism for rare earth elements (REEs). The sediments are categorized into three lithological units (Unit I, II and III from top to bottom), but into two groups (Unit I/II and Unit III) based on the distribution pattern of REEs. The distribution pattern of REEs in Unit I/II is similar to that of Post-Archean Australian Shale (PAAS), but shows a negative Ce anomaly and enrichment in heavy REEs (HREEs). In Unit III, the HREE enrichment and Ce anomaly is much more remarkable than Unit I/II when normalized to PAAS, which are interpreted as resulting from the absorption of REEs from seawater by Fe oxyhydroxides that were transported along the buoyant plume from remotely-located hydrothermal vents. It is supported by the PAAS-normalized REE pattern of Unit III which is similar to those of seawater and East Pacific Rise sediments. Meanwhile, the PAAS-normalized REE pattern of Unit I/II is explained by the 4:1 mixing of terrestrial eolian sediment and Unit III from each, indicating the much smaller contribution of hydrothermal origin material to Unit I/II. The studied sediments have the potentiality of a low-grade and large tonnage REE resource. However, the mining of REE-bearing sediment needs a large size extra collecting, lifting and treatment system to dress and refine low-grade sediments if the sediment is exploited with manganese nodules. It is economically infeasible to develop low-grade REE sediments at this moment in time because the exploitation of REE-bearing sediments with manganese nodules increase the mining cost.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.455-466
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• 2010

Seabed mineral resources explored by Korea are categorized into major three types of deposit; manganese nodule, manganese crust and polymetallic sulfides. Pt displays high enrichment factors (400, ore/crust ratios) in manganese nodule. Rare earth oxide content in manganese nodule ranges from 0.037 to 0.302 REO % with mean value of 0.12 REO %. Both of Te and Pt are enriched elements in manganese crust, displaying enrichment factors of 10800 and 150, respectively. Rare earth oxide's contents of manganese crust are slightly higher than manganese nodule's (0.013~0.387 REO %, average = 0.18 REO %). Se and In are outstanding rare metals from seabed polymetallic sulfides, showing enrichment factors of 1300 and 110, respectively. Au (0.8~26.3 g/t) and Ag (0.9~348.0 g/t) are another enriched elements in polymetallic sulfides. The main concern at exploiting seabed mineral resource will be a securing rare metals for high-technology industries and rare metals from subsea mineral deposits will add economic values to commodity candidates such like Co, Ni and Cu.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.407-421
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• 2014

The benthic environmental impact experiment addresses environmental impacts at a specific site related to deep-sea mineral resource development. We have acquired several tens of multi- or box core samples at 31 sites within the Benthic environmental Impact Site (BIS) since 2010, aiming to examine the basic properties of surficial deep-sea sediment as a potential source for deep-water plumes. In this study, we present the geochemical properties such as major elements, rare earth elements (REEs), and heavy metal contents at the BIS. Such proxies vary distinctly according to the Facies association. The lithology of all core sediments in the BIS corresponds to both Association Ib and Association IIIb. The vertical profiles of some major elements ($SiO_2$, $Fe_2O_3$, CaO, $P_2O_5$, MgO, MnO) show noticeable differences between Association Ib and IIIb, while others ($Al_2O_3$, $TiO_2$, $Na_2O$, and $K_2O$) do not vary between Association Ib and IIIb. REEs are also distinctly different for Associations Ib and IIIb; in Association Ib, REY and HREE/LREE are uniform through the sediment section, while they increase downward in Association IIIb like the major elements; below a depth of 8 cm, REY is over 500 ppm. The metal enrichment factor (EF) evaluates the anthropogenic influences of some metals (Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Cd) in marine sediments. In both Associations, the EF for Cu is over 1.5, the EF for Ni and Pb ranges from 0.5 to 1.5, and the EF for Zn and Cd are less than 0.5, indicating Cu is enriched but Zn and Cd are relatively depleted in the BIS. The vertical variations of geochemical properties between Association Ib and IIIb are shown to be clearly different, which seems to be related to the global climate changes such as the shift of Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.7
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• pp.663-670
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• 2016

This paper introduces the concept of the computer-aided engineering(CAE) design method for a bypass valve in a system that is used for the safe lifting of mineral resources in deep-seabed mining. Although the bypass valve has a simple mechanism, its design is very difficult because of various influencing factors. This equipment, which has a complex design process, should be developed by CAE-based design method. The method can perform the design, design verification, and virtual experiment at the same time. In this study, the CAE-based method for the design of the bypass valve has been developed using fluid dynamics, multi-body dynamics, and optimization method.