Third-Generation Commercial Mining System Development for Manganese Nodules: Direct-to- vs. Incremental-to-5,000-m Approach

This paper assesses two different approaches in developing deep ocean mining systems and technology: Incremental and direct to reach the 5,000-m ocean floor for manganese nodule and crust mining or production. The paper reviews rather the slow technological developments made among the newcomers using an incremental approach since the early 1990s and presents an idea likely to speed up the technological progress: Namely, adopting the use of a direct approach.