JP2012057350A - Marine mineral treatment system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a marine mineral treatment system capable of transporting only a mineral concentrate above the sea or on land by crushing and separating extracted ore as well as treating a veinstone on the sea bed without lifting the same above the sea in order to improve economic efficiency of developing a metallic mineral resource existing on the sea bed and to solve a problem with treating a veinstone.SOLUTION: A marine mineral treatment system comprises: a miner 10 to mine a mineral resource of a hydrothermal deposit 2 existing on the sea bed 1; crushing means 20 which is installed on the sea bed 1 to crush a mineral resource mined by the miner 10; a marine mineral column floatation machine 40 which is installed on the sea bed 1 to separate the crushed mineral resource by the crushing means into a mineral concentrate and a veinstone; and mineral concentrate lifting means 60 to lift the mineral concentrate up to a mother ship 70. The marine mineral column floatation machine 40 has a discharge port to discharge the veinstone on the sea bed 1.

Description

  The present invention provides a seafloor mineral processing system that enables economical resource development of metal minerals existing on the sea floor by disposing of unnecessary rocks other than useful metal minerals, that is, gangue, on the sea floor without being pumped to the sea. About.

  There are useful metal minerals such as iron, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper in the deep sea floor. Various collection methods and apparatuses for collecting these useful metal minerals have been proposed (Patent Documents 1 to 4).

In Patent Document 1, a mineral nodule collected at the deep sea bottom is crushed into fine particles immediately after the collection, and the fine particles are collected by extracting to a marine vessel via a flexible transport hose. Describes how to collect resources.
However, this extraction method is to extract the mineral resources collected on the seabed as they are. For this reason, unnecessary rocks (gangue) contained in a large amount in fine grains are also collected from the seabed. Therefore, energy is required to pump gangue along with the useful mineral (concentrate) contained in the ore to the sea and transport it to land. This causes a loss of economic efficiency as a mineral resource.

In Patent Document 2, seawater is injected at high speed from a jet nozzle provided at the tip of a suction high-pressure water pipe using an injection pump in order to efficiently and economically mine deep seafloor nodule resources. Thus, there is described a mining apparatus that prevents energy loss by preventing a large amount of clay mass from being lifted together with a nodule-like seabed resource during pumping.
However, this mining device is intended for nodular seabed resources and is not used for mineral resources collected by crushing.

In Patent Document 3, useful metals and the like that are deposited, buried or mine on the seabed are sucked as mixed water with seawater and lifted into the mother ship, and after separating the water from useful metals and the like, the remaining mixed water is again reused. Describes how to collect seabed resources back into the sea.
However, this method of collecting seabed resources separates water from useful metals after being sucked into the mother ship. For this reason, energy is required to suck up unnecessary materials other than useful metals into the mother ship, and this causes a loss of economic efficiency as resources of useful metals. This collection method is also intended for nodular seabed resources and is not used for mineral resources collected by crushing. Moreover, since it is the method of returning mixed water to the sea again, mixed water diffuses easily in seawater, and the solid substance in mixed water is also dissipated very widely.

In Patent Document 4, in order to improve the amount and efficiency of mineral collection and to avoid the influence of sea surface swell and bad weather, etc., the mother ship, underwater station, relay block, and collection vehicle are not included. It describes a mining facility with a mining transport pipe and an energy supply cable between them. In this mining facility, in a silo with a sieve grid of a relay block, the pumped mixture pumped from a collection vehicle through a mining transport pipe is beneficiated and washed.
However, this mining facility is also intended for a nodular seabed resource of a predetermined size, and is not used for mineral resources collected by crushing.

JP-A-5-141175 JP-A-2-27515 JP 2000-248874 A US Pat. No. 4,685,742

As described above, the method of collecting the mineral nodules described in Patent Document 1 pulverizes the mineral nodules, but this is because the gangue is also pumped to the sea together with the concentrate and transported to the land. It becomes a cause of impairing economics as a mineral resource. In addition, all of those described in Patent Documents 2 to 4 are intended for the nodule-like seabed resources themselves, and are not used for mineral resources collected by crushing. Thus, the conventional mining equipment, mining facilities, and seabed resource collection methods do not collect the mineral resources collected by crushing from the seabed without impairing the economy.
In addition, as in the method of collecting mineral agglomerates described in Patent Document 1, when the concentrate and gangue were pumped without being sorted and transported to land, the ore was crushed and separated to recover the concentrate. The remaining gangue may contain unnecessary heavy metals. For this reason, the gangue must be disposed of properly, such as by using a method that has a low environmental impact. The cost of disposal of this gangue is also an economic burden in resource development.
Therefore, the present invention is to improve the economic efficiency of the development of metal mineral resources existing on the seabed, and to grind ores including mineral nodules collected on the seabed to solve the problem of gangue disposal, An object of the present invention is to provide a seabed mineral processing system that can separate and transfer only concentrate to the sea or land, and dispose of gangue on the seabed without being pumped to the sea.

The seabed mineral processing system of the present invention according to claim 1 comprises a mining means provided on the seabed for mining mineral resources existing on the seabed, and a crushing means provided on the seabed for crushing the mineral resources mined by the mining means. A seabed separation means provided on the seabed for selecting concentrate and gangue from the mineral resources crushed by the pulverization means, a concentrate pumping means for pumping the concentrate to the sea or the ground, and the gangue It is characterized by having a gangue disposal means to dispose of sea urchin.
According to the above configuration, the mineral resources mined by the mining means on the sea floor are crushed, the crushed mineral resources are separated into concentrate and gangue on the sea floor, the concentrate is pumped up, and the gangue is put on the sea floor. Can be disposed of. Here, the “seafloor” includes not only the seabed but also the seafloor in the sea, that is, a region within the range of a predetermined height from the seabed, more specifically, an intermediate point between the sea surface and the seabed to the seabed side. The region and the region below the seabed are also included. In addition, the “ground” includes a sea surface or a structure provided at a predetermined height from the sea surface in a shallow sea near the land. The present invention according to claim 2, wherein the seabed mineral according to claim 1 is included. In the processing system, the seabed separation means is characterized by selecting the concentrate and the gangue based on the nature of the mineral resource.
According to said structure, according to the various property according to the kind of said mineral resource, a concentrate and a gangue can be isolate | separated by a seabed separation means. Here, “the property of the mineral resource” means a property of the mineral resource itself, and examples thereof include physical properties such as specific gravity and magnetism, hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, and buoyancy received in water.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the submarine mineral processing system according to the second aspect, the seabed separation means is a flotation means in which air or gas is circulated.
According to said structure, since only concentrate can be floated by injecting air or gas in the flotation means, it is possible to separate concentrate and gangue in the crushed mineral resources. . In general, concentrates are less hydrophilic than gangue, so that concentrates in the state of bubbles are collected at the top of the flotation means by injecting air or gas into the seawater in the flotation means. Can do. Moreover, these can be reused by circulating air or gas in the flotation means.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is the submarine mineral processing system according to the third aspect, characterized in that the air or the gas is supplied from an air supply means provided on the sea or on the ground.
According to the above configuration, a sufficient amount of air or gas can be supplied from the ground to circulate in the flotation means.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the seabed mineral processing system according to one of the first to fourth aspects, the pulverizing means and / or the seabed separating means have a leveling means. It is characterized by.
According to said structure, it becomes possible to keep a grinding | pulverization means and / or a seabed separation means horizontal, and to prevent inclination.

The seabed mineral processing system of the present invention according to claim 6 comprises a mining means provided on the seabed for mining mineral resources existing on the seabed, and a crushing means provided on the seabed for crushing the mineral resources mined by the mining means. And an ore means for uplifting the mineral resources crushed by the pulverizing means to the sea, and a sea separation means for separating concentrate and gangue from the mineral resources uplifted by the ore means at sea. A gangue disposal means for disposing the gangue on the sea floor is provided.
According to the above configuration, the mineral resources mined by the mining means can be crushed, the crushed mineral resources can be separated into concentrate and gangue, the concentrate can be pumped, and the gangue can be disposed on the seabed. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the submarine mineral processing system according to one of the first to sixth aspects, the pulverizing unit is configured to supply air or gas from an air supply unit provided on the sea or on the ground. The mineral resources are crushed by mechanical force in the presence of air or gas while being replenished.
According to said structure, since the grinding | pulverization by a grinding | pulverization means is performed not in seawater but in the air or gas interposing, there is no resistance of seawater and can transmit mechanical force efficiently to a mineral resource.
The present invention according to claim 8 is the submarine mineral processing system according to claim 7, wherein the pulverizing means includes a ball mill. According to the above configuration, the mineral resources are finely pulverized. can do. The pulverizing means may be constituted by a ball mill alone or in combination with a crushing jaw crusher or the like.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the seabed mineral processing system according to one of the first to eighth aspects, at least the mining means and the pulverizing means are provided as a unit body on the seabed. It is characterized by that.
According to said structure, the positional relationship of a mining means and a grinding | pulverization means can be fixed.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is the seabed mineral processing system according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the gangue disposal means is the same place where the gangue was mined by the mining means. Alternatively, it is disposed on the seabed in the vicinity.
According to said structure, an unnecessary gangue can be returned to the original place. Here, the “vicinity” refers to a region within a range that does not affect the seabed environment from the location where the gangue was mined.

According to the present invention, unnecessary gangue can be disposed on the seabed without being pumped, and only concentrate can be pumped from the seabed. Can improve the economics of developing metal mineral resources. In addition, since mineral resources are pulverized and separated on the ocean floor, the impact on the surrounding human society associated with processing such as generation of noise and dust can be reduced. Furthermore, since the gangue can be disposed on the seabed from which the mineral was collected, it is possible to prevent diffusion and dissipation into the seawater and solve the environmental problems caused by the gangue disposal.
In addition, if the seabed separation means is configured to select concentrate and gangue based on the nature of the mineral resource, the means for appropriately separating the concentrate and gangue is selected according to the various properties of the mineral resource. For example, it is possible to prevent the beneficiation time in the seawater from being affected by the resistance due to the water, such as a sieve lattice, which takes a long time.
Further, if the seabed separation means is constituted by a flotation means that circulates air or gas, the air or gas used in the flotation means can be reused on the seabed, so that a large amount of air or gas can be floated. During this time, energy for supplying from the sea or land is no longer necessary, and the economics of metal mineral resource development can be improved.
Further, if the pulverizing means and / or the seabed separating means has a leveling means, it is possible to keep the pulverizing means and / or the seabed separating means horizontal. It is possible to prevent such a situation that the function is impaired and to make them function efficiently and reliably.
In addition, if the pulverizing means is configured to pulverize mineral resources by mechanical force in the presence of air or gas, the mineral resources can be efficiently crushed in air or gas without being affected by water. Can do.
Further, if the pulverizing means includes a ball mill, mineral resources can be finely pulverized, so that the separation efficiency of concentrate and gangue by the seabed separation means can be improved.
Further, if the mining means and the pulverizing means are provided on the sea floor as a unit body, handling of these means becomes easy. For example, when the mining means and the pulverizing means are suspended from the sea and taken down, the positional relationship between the two can be fixed and handled as an integrated unit, so that installation on the sea floor and lifting from the sea floor are facilitated.
Also, if the gangue disposal means is configured to dispose of the gangue at the same location where it was mined by the mining means or the sea floor in the vicinity thereof, it can be returned to the original location where the unnecessary gangue was mined, It prevents diffusion and dissipation into seawater and reduces the environmental impact of gangue disposal.

The schematic diagram which shows typically schematic structure of the seabed mineral processing system of Embodiment 1 of this invention. (A) Process chart showing conventional treatment process (b) Process chart showing treatment process of seabed mineral treatment system of the present invention Sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of ball mill for seabed mineral processing Sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of column flotation machine for seabed mineral processing Front view showing schematic configuration of leveling device The schematic diagram which shows typically schematic structure of the seabed mineral processing system of Embodiment 2 of this invention.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view schematically showing a schematic configuration of a seabed mineral processing system 100 of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a seabed mineral processing system 100 of the present invention includes a mining machine (mining means) 10 for mining mineral resources existing in a hydrothermal deposit 2 or the like on the seabed 1, and a mineral resource mined by the mining machine 10. Pulverizing means 20 provided on the sea floor for pulverizing the slag, a column flotation machine (sea bottom separating means) 40 for treating the seabed minerals and gangue from the mineral resources crushed by the pulverizing means 20, It is provided with a concentrate pumping means 60 for pumping ore into a mother ship (air supply means) 70 located on the sea surface 3 on the sea. In the submarine mineral processing system 100 of the present embodiment, the outlet 54 (see FIG. 4) of the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 functions as a gangue disposal means, as will be described later.

FIG. 2 (a) is a process chart showing a conventional treatment process, and FIG. 2 (b) is a process chart showing a treatment process of the seabed mineral treatment system of the present invention. As shown in the process chart of FIG. 2 (b), the seabed mineral processing system 100 pulverizes the mineral resource ore mined by the mining machine 10 on the seabed 1 (hereinafter referred to as “original ore” as appropriate), and is unnecessary. After separating and disposing of the gangue, the concentrate is pumped, transported and smelted.
As described above, the submarine mineral processing system 100 uses the concentrate from which unnecessary gangue is removed as an object for pumping and transporting, so that energy for pumping and transporting the gangue becomes unnecessary. Therefore, by using the seabed mineral processing system 100, it is possible to improve the economic efficiency of the development of metal mineral resources existing on the seabed 1.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the conventional processing process involves pulverization and separation with noise after uplifting, thus causing problems such as noise. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, the seabed mineral processing system 100 according to the present embodiment performs crushing and separation near the seabed 1, and returns the gangue to the seabed 1 that originally existed. . For this reason, according to the seabed mineral processing system 100, it is possible to solve environmental problems such as noise, diffusion and dissipation in seawater that occur when the gangue is disposed after being pumped to the sea and transported to the ground. it can.
The submarine mineral processing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is normally used on a deep seabed having a depth of 1000 meters or more from the sea surface 3, but when minerals are found on a deep lake bottom, etc. It can also be used in lakes.

Below, the structure of the seabed mineral processing system 100 is demonstrated.
The mining machine 10 collects mineral resources such as useful metal minerals present in the hydrothermal deposit 2 on the deep sea floor. In the present embodiment, the mineral resource is collected by the cutting machine 11 provided in front of the mining machine 10, but instead of the cutting machine 11, for example, a suction means for sucking and collecting the mineral resource is used. You can also. Further, the mining machine 10 includes crawlers 12 on both sides as means for moving in any direction on the seabed 1. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the mining machine 10 includes a detection unit, an imaging unit, and the like for enabling work in a situation where visibility is poor in the deep sea.

The crushing means 20 receives the ore collected by the mining machine 10 on the seabed 1 through the connecting pipe 13, and is sufficient for separation by the column flotation machine 40 for processing seabed minerals and for the uplifting by the concentrate uplifting means 60. It pulverizes to size.
In the seabed mineral processing system 100, the concentrate is separated into concentrate and gangue using the seabed mineral processing column flotation machine 40. The concentrate is transferred to the mother ship 70 on the sea surface 3 by the submarine mineral processing system 100 and finally smelted in the smelter. The gangue is discharged to the disposal section 55 on the seabed and disposed of (see FIG. 2B). In addition, the concentrate separated by the column flotation machine 40 for processing seabed minerals can be directly transferred to the land instead of the mother ship 70 when the hydrothermal deposit 2 exists in the vicinity of the land.

The pulverizing means 20 includes a coarse pulverizer (not shown) and a fine pulverizer. And in the pulverization process of the ore by the pulverizing means 20, the ore is crushed to a size of several mm to several centimeters using a crusher, and further several tens μm to hundreds of tens μm using a fine pulverizer. Finely pulverize. As the crusher, for example, a jaw crusher or a gyratory crusher can be used. As the pulverizer, for example, a ball mill can be used. A ball mill is a device that pulverizes a substance by applying a load or impact force between a rotating container and a steel ball enclosed in the crushed material (a substance to be crushed). .
When the ball mill used on the ground is used in the sea, water flows into the inside from the opening. For this reason, the resistance of the steel ball when the material is pulverized by the action of seawater increases, and the pulverizing force of the steel ball decreases. Therefore, in order to use the ball mill used on the ground on the seabed, it is necessary to adopt the configuration for preventing the above-described increase in resistance.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the seabed mineral processing ball mill 21. In the seabed mineral processing ball mill 21, an opening 23 into which a charging pipe 22 connected to the mining machine 10 is inserted via a connecting pipe 13 (see FIG. 1) is covered with a sealing member 29. A compressed air pressure hose 26 for press-fitting air or gas (hereinafter referred to as “air or the like” as appropriate) into the processing unit 24 is provided so as to penetrate the sealing member 29 of the opening 23. . By supplying compressed air or the like from the compressed air pressure hose 26 into the processing unit 24, seawater is prevented from flowing into the processing unit 24, and a sufficient amount of air or the like is secured in the processing unit 24. it can. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the resistance of the steel balls 25 from increasing due to the action of seawater and the grinding force of the steel balls 25 from being reduced. As a result, the seabed mineral processing ball mill 21 can exhibit a sufficient crushing ability on the seabed. In the seabed mineral processing system 100, supply of air or the like to the compressed air pressure hose 26 is performed via an air supply pipe 71 provided in parallel with a connecting pipe 61 described later (see FIG. 1). .
In this way, by using the submarine mineral processing ball mill 21 provided with the compressed air pressure hose 26 for supplying air or the like to the processing section 24 in the interior, it is sufficient to be put into the next separation process. It becomes possible to finely pulverize the ore.
The ore finely pulverized in the seabed mineral processing ball mill 21 is sucked by using a pump 28 from a suction pipe 27 connected in the processing section 24, and the seabed mineral processing column flotation machine 40 (see FIG. 1). Supplied to.
The submarine mineral processing ball mill 21 includes a motor, a speed reducer, a bearing, a power supply facility, and the like in addition to the above-described configuration.
Moreover, as gas other than the air press-fit in the processing unit 24, for example, nitrogen gas or the like is used. In addition, as a means for pulverizing mineral resources by mechanical force, means that are advantageous for pulverization in the presence of air or gas include a rod mill, a hammark lasher, and the like in addition to a ball mill.

In the separation process, the finely ground raw ore is separated into concentrate and gangue. Various types of on-shore separation devices are known, but as a device installed in an environment where human access is difficult, such as the seabed, a device with a simple mechanism and less prone to failure is suitable. Yes. For these reasons, the submarine mineral processing system 100 according to the present embodiment is a column flotation machine 40 for processing submarine minerals, which is an apparatus type called a column flotation machine, based on a separation method called flotation (flotation). Is used.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a column flotation machine 40 for processing seabed minerals. As shown in the figure, in the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40, air is generated from bubble generating nozzles 42 provided in the lower part of a column 41 that is a column-shaped structure filled with finely pulverized particles and water. Etc., and bubbles B (indicated by white circles in the figure) are generated to form a flow of bubbles B from the bottom to the top in the column 41. Then, the pulp P, which is a mixture of concentrate particles M (indicated by black triangles in the figure), gangue particles S (indicated by white squares in the figure), and water from above the bubble generating nozzle 42, is obtained. By throwing it into the column 41, only the concentrate particles M are allowed to adhere to the surface of the bubbles B (B + M), and the gangue particles S can be settled. In this way, by putting the pulp P into the column 41, the concentrate particles M and the gangue particles S can be separated.

When using the column flotation machine 40 for processing seabed minerals in the sea, first, it is necessary to supply air or the like necessary for the generation of bubbles B, but this air or the like may be supplied from the sea or from the land. . After the bubble B once rises in the column 41 as the bubble B, the bubble B staying in the column upper end part (overflow part) 43 is removed from the inside of the seabed mineral processing column flotation machine 40 and discharged into the sea. After reaching 3 (see FIG. 1), it is released into the atmosphere.
However, it is not economical to separate the concentrate particles M and gangue particles S by releasing air or the like into the sea and newly supplying the air or the like from the sea or land. This is because in order to supply air or the like from the sea or the land to the seafloor mineral processing column flotation machine 40 in the seafloor mineral processing column flotation machine 40 at the deep seabed, the water pressure at the seabed becomes considerably high. This is because very large energy is required (100 atm at a water depth of 1000 meters).
Accordingly, the seabed mineral processing system 100 reuses the air supplied to the seafloor mineral processing column flotation machine 40, and after a predetermined amount of air or the like has been supplied, the seabed mineral processing system 100 leaks into the seawater. When there is a shortage due to melting, the air is added to the shortage. In this way, air or the like press-fitted into the column 41 from the bubble generating nozzle 42 is recovered from the column upper end portion 43 and repeatedly used for generating bubbles from the bubble generating nozzle 42, that is, by recirculating air or the like. The energy efficiency required for the generation of the bubbles B is improved, and the efficient and economical separation of the concentrate M and the gangue S is realized.

The column flotation machine 40 for processing submarine minerals includes an accumulator 44 that temporarily stores air for generating bubbles B, air, and the like together with the column 41 in order to reuse the air or the like injected from the bubble generating nozzle 42. A pump 45 for recirculating and press-fitting, a hose 46 for supplying air or the like from the sea or land, piping 47 and 48 for connecting them, and a valve 49 are provided.
More specifically, the accumulator 44 is in communication with the hose 46 and the pipes 47 and 48. And the air etc. which were supplied from the air supply means (not shown) provided in the mother ship 70 (refer FIG. 1) go through the air supply pipe 71 provided in parallel with the connection pipe 61 mentioned later. The gas is supplied from the hose 46 into the accumulator 44, and supplied to the bubble generating nozzle 42 in the lower part of the column 41 through the pipe 47. The accumulator 44 collects air or the like from the column 41 via a pipe 48 communicating with the space 50 at the column upper end portion 43. The collection is performed by controlling the pump 45 and the valve 49 provided in the pipe 48.
Note that the column 41, the accumulator 44, the hose 46, the pipes 47 and 48, the valve 49, and the like are not hermetically sealed containers, and need not be configured with a pressure-resistant one. Further, in the seabed mineral processing system 100, the air supply pipe 71 is used as a supply means for air or the like common to the hose 46 and the compressed air pressure hose 26 (see FIG. 3) of the pulverizing means 20, but each is different from each other. It is good also as comprising by things.
In addition, in the beneficiation at the bottom of the sea, the method of performing the beneficiation by circulating air or gas is not limited to the flotation means such as the column flotation machine 40 for the treatment of submarine minerals. It can be applied ideologically to any means of beneficiation in which the conditions of beneficiation differ from those on the ground due to the presence of seawater such as air beneficiation.

The concentrate M in which the bubbles B flowed out together with the foam 51 accumulated in the column upper end portion 43 is sent to the concentrate ore extraction means 60 (see FIG. 1) via the pipe 53 provided with the pump 52, and It is pumped to mother ship 70.
The concentrate pumping means 60 is connected to the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 through a connecting pipe 53, and is connected to a mother ship 70 on the sea surface 3 through a connecting pipe 61. The concentrate from which the gangue was separated by the column flotation machine 40 is pumped to the mother ship 70.
In the submarine mineral processing system 100, the concentrate is pumped to the mother ship 70 and then transported to the land for smelting. However, when the submarine mineral processing system 100 is used near the land, the mother ship 70 is pumped. It is also possible to pump the concentrate directly on land without mining. Further, the pumping can be carried out by the mother ship 70, and the air can be supplied from the air supply means provided on the land.

  The gangue separated in the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 is discharged from a discharge port 54 opened at the bottom of the column 41. Before installing the column flotation machine 40 for processing seabed minerals, prepare a gangue disposal hole in the disposal section 55 (see FIG. 1), and dispose the gangue in the gangue disposal hole. It is possible to properly dispose of the gangue by preventing it from flowing into the sea and adversely affecting the environment.

  The crushing means 20 and the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 of the submarine mineral processing system 100 may be configured as a unit. If both are configured as a unit, it is possible to reduce the number of work steps when installing them on the seabed 1 and pulling them up from the seabed 1.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a leveling device (leveling adjustment means) 80. As shown in the figure, the leveling device 80 includes a gantry 81, a support 82, an actuator 83, and an inclinometer 84. The gantry 81 is for placing the pulverizing means 20 and / or the column mineral flotation machine 40 (see FIG. 1) on the seabed mineral. The gantry 81 is provided on the seabed 1 by the pillars 82 provided at the four corners. Then, a signal based on the measurement result of the inclinometer 84 provided on the seabed 1 side of the gantry 81 is received, and the column 82 is expanded and contracted by the actuator 83 provided on the seabed 1 side of each column 82, whereby the gantry 81 can be kept horizontal. This prevents the crushing means 20 and the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 from being inclined to reduce the efficiency and the function of the crushing and separation by the submarine mineral processing system 100. It can be done efficiently.
In particular, since the seabed mineral processing system 100 uses the columnar flotation machine 40 for processing seabed minerals, securing the state of being horizontally installed by the leveling device 80 can separate the concentrate from the mine. It is effective to perform efficiently.
In addition, since the leveling device 80 is for maintaining the level of the gantry 81, it is not always necessary that the four columns 82 are provided with the actuators 83, and the leveling device 80 is necessary for leveling of the columns 82. It is good also as providing the actuator 83 only in a thing.

(Embodiment 2)
A submarine mineral processing system 200 in which the present invention is implemented using a submarine mineral processing column flotation machine (sea separation means) 40 provided on a mother ship 70 will be described below with reference to FIG. In addition, what was demonstrated in Embodiment 1 attaches the same number, and abbreviate | omits description in this Embodiment.
The seabed mineral processing system 200 is the same as the seabed mineral processing system 100 in that it includes the mining machine 10, the crushing means 20, the seabed mineral processing column flotation machine 40, and the concentrate ore pumping means 60. The submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 is different from the submarine mineral processing system 100 in that the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 is provided not on the seabed 1 but on the mother ship 70 on the sea surface 3.
For this reason, in the submarine mineral processing system 200 of the present embodiment, the pulverizing means 20 and the concentrate pumping means 60 are connected by the suction pipe 27, and before the concentrate and the gangue are separated, It is pumped up to sea level 3 by the concentrate pumping means 60. Then, the concentrate and the gangue are separated by the submarine mineral processing column flotation machine 40 on the mother ship 70, and unnecessary gangue is disposed (discarded) on the seabed 1.
Therefore, compared with the conventional submarine mineral processing system (see Fig. 2 (a)) that separates concentrate and gangue after transportation for smelting, the transportation efficiency is improved by the amount not transporting gangue. Moreover, disposal of gangue can be performed easily.
In the seabed mineral processing system 200, the gangue discharged from the outlet 54 of the seabed mineral processing column flotation machine 40 is a discharge pipe 62 provided along with the connecting pipe 61 and a discharge installed at the tip thereof. It is disposed of in the disposal section 55 through the nozzle 63. Through the seabed 1. As a result, it is possible to return the gangue to the seabed where it originally existed, and to reduce the environmental impact.

The present invention is an ocean bottom mineral processing system that can crush and separate ore collected on the ocean floor, transfer only concentrate to the ocean, and dispose of gangue on the ocean floor without being pumped to the ocean. Can be used.
It can also be used as a seabed mineral processing system that unloads ores that have been mined and crushed on the seabed and then separated on the sea to dispose of gangue on the seabed and transport only concentrate to land. .
In addition, when this invention is utilized for the position close | similar to a land, it is good also as unloading the concentrate isolate | separated on the seabed directly on land.

10 Mining machine (mining means)
20 Crushing means 21 Seabed mineral processing ball mill (pulverization means)
40 Submarine mineral processing column flotation machine (sea bottom separation means, flotation means, sea separation means)
54 Discharge port (means to dispose of gangue)
60 Concentration pumping means 62 Discharge pipe (means of disposal of gangue)
63 Discharge nozzle (means to dispose of gangue)
70 Mother ship (air supply means)
80 Leveling device (leveling means)
100, 200 Submarine mineral processing system

Claims (10)

Mining means provided on the seabed for mining mineral resources existing on the seabed;
Crushing means provided on the seabed for crushing the mineral resources mined by the mining means;
Seabed separation means provided on the seabed for selecting concentrate and gangue from the mineral resources crushed by the pulverization means;
A concentrate pumping means for pumping the concentrate on the sea or on the ground;
A submarine mineral processing system comprising gangue disposal means for disposing of the gangue on the seabed.   The seabed mineral processing system according to claim 1, wherein the seabed separation means sorts the concentrate and the gangue based on properties of the mineral resource.   The seabed mineral processing system according to claim 2, wherein the seabed separation means is a flotation means that circulates air or gas.   The seabed mineral processing system according to claim 3, wherein the air or the gas is supplied from an air supply means provided on the sea or on the ground.   5. The seabed mineral processing system according to claim 1, wherein the pulverizing unit and / or the seabed separating unit includes a leveling unit. Mining means provided on the seabed for mining mineral resources existing on the seabed;
Crushing means provided on the seabed for crushing the mineral resources mined by the mining means;
A pumping means for pumping the mineral resources crushed by the pulverizing means to the sea;
Sea separation means for separating concentrate and gangue from the mineral resources pumped by the pumping means;
A submarine mineral processing system comprising gangue disposal means for disposing of the gangue on the seabed.   The pulverizing means receives replenishment of air or gas from an air supply means provided on the sea or on the ground, and pulverizes the mineral resources by mechanical force in the presence of air or gas. The seabed mineral processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The seabed mineral processing system according to claim 7, wherein the pulverizing means includes a ball mill.   9. The seabed mineral processing system according to claim 1, wherein at least the mining means and the pulverizing means are provided as a unit body on the seabed.   The present invention according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the gangue disposal means disposes of the gangue on the seabed at or near the same place where the minestone was mined by the mining means. The seabed mineral processing system according to item 1.