AU2018101051A4 - A system and method thereof for off shore mining - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT-1729 A SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF FOR OFF SHORE MINING Embodiments of the present disclosure, relates to the field of deep sea mining. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a system and method of off shore mining for retrieval and extraction of heavy mineral concentrate from placer deposits or other suitable 0 materials. The system comprises a dredge vessel and a barge, coupled in conjunction to the dredge vessel. The dredge vessel having thereon a dredging unit, at least one gravity separator and spiral separators for procurement of total heavy minerals from dredged sediment and debris. The barge is configured to acquire and process the total heavy minerals, wherein the barge has thereon at least one magnetic separator, electro-magnetic separators, and density separators for separation of 5 desired minerals based on their physical properties. The system further comprises at least one discharge conduit for tailing of wastes, leftover after extraction and separation of desired minerals, back into water bodies.

Claims (9)

1. 2018101051 30 Jul 2018

   PCT-1729 at least one discharge conduit (25) for tailing of wastes, leftover after extraction and separation of desired minerals, back into water bodies.
2. 2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dredging unit (11) is substantially a bucket wheel dredger or a cutter suction dredger.

   5
3. 3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gravity separator (12) is substantially a vibrating screen or a rotary sieve.
4. 4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system further comprising at least one intermediate conduit (30) interconnecting said dredge vessel (10) with the barge (20) for transferring total heavy minerals.

   0 5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dewatering unit (21) accomplishes removal of water from the total heavy minerals by sun drying or heating or dehydrating equipment.
5. 5 (22), electro-magnetic separators (23), and density separators (24) included in the barge (20) can be arranged and configured in any sequence based on the requirement of user.
6. 6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the density separator (24) is substantially a hydro-sizer or a cyclonic separator or an air density separator or a liquid density separator.
7. 7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dewatering unit (21), magnetic separators
8. 8. A method for off shore mining comprising the steps of:

   dredging and procuring sediments and debris from water bodies;

   0 excluding oversized particles and obtaining of finer particles from sediments and debris by gravity separators;

   extracting total heavy minerals from finer particles of sediments and debris by spiral classifiers;

   dewatering the total heavy minerals to expel water absorbed by the total heavy minerals;

   separating desired minerals from total heavy minerals based; and

   2018101051 30 Jul 2018

   PCT-1729 tailing of wastes, leftover after extraction and separation of desired minerals, back into water bodies.
9. 9. A method for off shore mining as claimed in claim 8, wherein separating desired minerals from total heavy minerals is based on at least one predetermined properties selected from 5 a group comprising magnetic properties, electro-magnetic properties, and density.

   PCT-1729

   2018101051 30 Jul 2018

   OFF SHORE MINING SYSTEM 100

   DREDGE VESSEL 10

   AT LEAST OXE GRAVITY SEPARATOR 12

   AT LEAST OXE

   SPIRAL

   CLASSIFIERS 13

   INTERMEDIATE CONDUIT 30

   BARGE 20

   DEWATERIXG UNIT 21

   AT LEAST OXE ALAGXETIC SEPARATOR 22

   AT LEAST OXE ELECTROAL\GXETIC SEPARATOR 23

   AT LEAST OXE DISCHARGE COXDL'IT 14

   AT LEAST OXE

   DEXSITY SEPARATOR 24

   AT LEAST OXE DISCHARGE COXDLTT 25

   FIGURE 1