This work package is sub-divided into 5 sub-tasks covering the assessment of sea bed mining geology and characteristics, operational requirements of AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) with its arms manipulator, 3D sea bed mapping, target identification with volume measurement and requirements for LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) operation at 6000m sea depth.

The future demand for minerals is driven by the steady growth of the world’s population with increasing industrialization across the globe to meet the needs of the global population. Typical minerals are manganese modules, co-rich ferromanganese crusts, and sea floor massive sulphides.

ROBUST project within this work package seeks to validate the requirements for the technology; effectively, and sustainably mapping areas where these minerals exists and identifying high concentration areas for sea mining industry cost effective mineral exploration.

 Typical distribution of mineral sulphides, crusts, and nodules around the globe is shown below;