The Research Council of Norway has granted up to NOK 25 million to “MarMine”, a research project on marine mineral resources.
The project is coordinated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and has a strong industrial basis and participation. Nordic Mining’s subsidiary Nordic Ocean Resources AS (NORA) will be actively participating in the project.
In a 2013 pre-project, NORA and NTNU with support from Statoil did estimations indicating that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), within Norwegian jurisdiction, could contain as much as NOK 1,000 billion worth of minerals and metals. Specific areas along the MAR were pinpointed as promising for discovery of new sulfide deposits.
Exploration cruise 2016
As part of the “MarMine”, a comprehensive exploration cruise is planned on the Norwegian continental shelf in the summer of 2016. The cruise will explore for sulfide deposits within selected areas on the MAR. The work will involve sampling using a remotely operated underwater vehicle. Analysis and assessments will be done related to technical and environmental aspects of marine mineral operations.
CEO Ivar S. Fossum comments: “We are pleased that NORA’s pioneering efforts have sparked a strong industrial interest for the potential related to seabed minerals. We expect valuable new knowledge to be gained from the “MarMine” project.”