New method for mining submarine cobalt crusts

Abstract

The invention relates to new method and equipment for mining submarine cobalt crusts, wherein the method comprises the following steps of: (1) placing an acquisition platform to a seabed from a water-surface supporting ship; (2) starting the acquisition platform, extending out and leveling hydraulic supporting feet, and compacting the whole system by a lifting hydraulic cylinder so as to ensure the stability of the whole working; (3) extending out three folding type supporting arms, preliminarily determining the height of an acquisition mechanism, and fixing supporting legs; (4) starting an acquisition mechanism driving device installed on the acquisition platform, operating the acquisition mechanism to carry out crushing operation, collecting the crushed cobalt crusts through the acquisition mechanism and sending to a lifting ore bin; (5) after mining a corresponding fan-shaped area, carrying out angle adjustment on the three supporting arms through a rotary mechanism until finishing the mining of a round ore region with the diameter of 100m; and (6) transporting the acquired cobalt crusts to the water-surface supporting ship through a lifting device. The invention also comprises the corresponding equipment. The invention has low mining cost, high efficiency, simple equipment and high reliability and is applicable to mining the submarine cobalt crusts on a large scale.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to a new mining method and equipment for seabed mineral resources, in particular to a new mining method and equipment for deep-sea cobalt crusts. Background technique [0002] With the decrease of terrestrial mineral resources, the development of international seabed mineral resources is the general trend. The seabed of the country, which accounts for 65% of the world's ocean area, is rich in mineral resources. It contains more than 30 kinds of metal elements, among which the most valuable metals for commercial development are manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, etc. With the gradual understanding and mastery of deep-sea mining technology and the influence of favorable factors such as the rising trend of cobalt prices, cobalt crusts, as a strategic seabed mineral resource, will enter the stage of commercial mining in the near future. [0003] There are two main methods of mining marine mineral resources in current research: CLB (c...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, the CLB method cannot effectively control the running trajectory of the bucket bucket, and has poor ability to adapt to the seabed topography, and a large amount of resources will be lost; there may also be empty buckets or shallow buckets, which will make the production capacity fluctuate and cannot guarantee the design capacity, and the collection efficiency is low.

The scheme of submarine mining vehicle + pipeline lifting conveying system + surface support vessel was first proposed by the United States. At present, the mining vehicles proposed by various countries mostly adopt the crawler type walking mode, and the crushing heads are divided into spiral drum cutting type, hydraulic suction type, electric rake type, etc. , but the solution of using mining vehicles has the following problems: it is difficult to accurately estimate the operation and walking of mining vehicles on the seabed, and it is necessary to avoid and circumnavigate obstacles on complex terrain. Obstacles such as these are unpredictable, and the mining vehicle cannot overcome these obstacles, and may sink into them; the transmission hose connecting the mining vehicle and the intermediate warehouse will be very worn, and it is difficult to ensure the long-term trouble-free operation of the system; , The magnitude and direction of the inertial force are difficult to estimate and control, affecting the normal operation of the mining vehicle, and even causing the mining vehicle to overturn; the system structure is complex, and any failure in the transportation of the vehicle, hose and hard pipe will cause the system to be paralyzed ; The control of the mining vehicle is complicated, and its matching and positioning with the ship is also a difficult problem

Images