FAQs Archive

Q: B.1 How do we know what the environmental and social impacts will be from deep sea mining?

That is the purpose of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) , which must be conducted before any mining is approved. This work typically takes 3-5 years and is performed under an exploration license that does not allow commercial mining. The cost is typically around $30–80M USD and requires many baseline studies with hundreds of scientists. All this data is made public. A regulator will decide if deep sea mining can start commercial operations only after the impacts are known. For more details on the EIA, see this blog post .

Q: D.27 How does the underwater robot's design and propulsion system handle strong ocean currents?

From the extensive exploration data, we know that there are very few currents in the deep ocean. We have thrusters and control surfaces for navigating the underwater robot in the water column. Also, in the mission control software, we receive the sensor data in real-time via USBL and update the mission parameters.

Q: D.26 How does the underwater robot withstand extreme ocean pressures?

We design for this using pressure vessels to protect the components and, in other cases, oil-compensate when the internal electronics are pressure tolerant but need to be isolated from the seawater. These are both common techniques for design in underwater robots.

Q: D.25 How do harsh marine weather conditions affect the reliability and efficiency of underwater robot deployment and recovery operations?

A common practice for docking autonomous underwater vehicles is securing them below the water's surface so surface waves do not impact them and changing weather conditions. We are using this approach for the underwater robot's recovery operations. Our techno-economic models assume 40 days a year when we are in a ‘weather hold’ condition and cannot operate.

Q: D.24 What will the effect of temperature and salinity be on the underwater robot?

Temperature and salinity at the depths at which we operate are very consistent. This impacts the index of refraction for our optical and acoustic systems, and variation in these values at the depth and through the water column is compensated for during operation.

Q: D.23 What recovery protocols are in place if the underwater robot loses communication with the operating center?

The mission is downloaded to the underwater robot at the start of the mission. We don’t need real-time communication. In an emergency, the robot will go to the surface and use WiFi or satellite communication to communicate with the operating center.

D.25 How do harsh marine weather conditions affect the reliability and efficiency of underwater robot deployment and recovery operations?

Holly Nielsen2025-03-10T14:15:24-07:00December 11th, 2024|

D.24 What will the effect of temperature and salinity be on the underwater robot?

Holly Nielsen2025-03-10T14:12:52-07:00December 11th, 2024|

D.23 What recovery protocols are in place if the underwater robot loses communication with the operating center?

Holly Nielsen2025-03-10T14:14:41-07:00December 11th, 2024|

D.27 How does the underwater robot’s design and propulsion system handle strong ocean currents?

D.26 How does the underwater robot withstand extreme ocean pressures?

D.25 How do harsh marine weather conditions affect the reliability and efficiency of underwater robot deployment and recovery operations?

D.24 What will the effect of temperature and salinity be on the underwater robot?

D.23 What recovery protocols are in place if the underwater robot loses communication with the operating center?

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B.1 How do we know what the environmental and social impacts will be from deep sea mining?

D.27 How does the underwater robot’s design and propulsion system handle strong ocean currents?

D.26 How does the underwater robot withstand extreme ocean pressures?

D.25 How do harsh marine weather conditions affect the reliability and efficiency of underwater robot deployment and recovery operations?

D.24 What will the effect of temperature and salinity be on the underwater robot?

D.23 What recovery protocols are in place if the underwater robot loses communication with the operating center?

Impossible Metals

STAY INFORMED

Connect with Us

Policies

STAY INFORMED

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Stay Informed