Green Minerals from the Seabed

Deep Reach Technology, Inc. recently completed a multi-year cooperative research project for the U S Army Research Laboratory for the purposes of investigating recovery of rare earth elements from the seabed. This research led to the discovery of a potentially economical deposit in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Cook Islands. In order to further develop this resource, Ocean Minerals LLC (OML) was formed in 2016 to explore the development of a deep-sea mining project to recover rare earth elements and scandium from the upper 10m of sediment in promising areas of the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone. OML and the Cook Islands Investment Corporation signed an Agreement in 2016 giving OML exclusive rights to explore a 12000 sq km area and option rights over an additional 48,000 sq km. This poster presents the current status and activities related to this project.