JP2012144944A - Seabed deposit mining method and mining unit for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seabed deposit mining method and a mining unit for the same capable of easily and surely mining a seabed deposit existing at deep sea and collecting a mineral from the same with high work efficiency.SOLUTION: A mining machine, capable of interchangeably attaching/detaching an excavation device to excavate a seabed deposit and a mineral collecting device to collect a crushed mineral excavated by the excavation device and scattered on a seabed to/from an attachment boom which is swingable at least in a vertical direction and provided at a tip of a main body frame having a pair of crawlers at a left and a right side thereof, is onboard a mining mother ship afloat at a mining site. After the mining machine with the excavation device attached thereto is lowered to the mining site on the seabed to excavate the seabed deposit and to produce a prescribed amount of crushed minerals, the mining machine is pulled up onto the mining mother ship to exchange the excavation device for the mineral collecting device. Then, the mining machine is again lowered to the seabed where crushed minerals are accumulated to collect the crushed minerals produced by the excavation with the mineral collection device and to transport the same onto the mining mother ship through a submerged pump installed on the seabed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for mining a deposit existing in the seabed, particularly in the deep sea, and a mining unit thereof.

  Recently, it has been confirmed by various exploration that there are many seabed deposits with metal resources such as gold, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, platinum, other rare metals, rare earths, etc. .

  By the way, in order to use the resources of the seabed deposits, means for crushing and mining the seabed deposits is necessary, and it has been conventionally proposed in, for example, JP-A-7-217361 and JP-A-2004-143741. There are known methods to sink the scraper from the ship and drop the claw for rock crushing, but most of them are for use in relatively shallow water and sampling, and actually The technology for mining is not disclosed.

  Further, a seabed excavator that directly sinks into the seabed and excavates the bedrock of the seabed is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 63-130829. The seabed excavator presented in this publication has a rectangular plane. A moving frame similar to a main body frame provided with telescopic legs at the four corners of the frame is supported by a slider so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a load head which is a cutting drum and a drum below the main body frame. It is equipped with a cutter.

  Therefore, it is not possible to efficiently mine freely and quickly on the seabed or seafloor deposit, and when the seabed is uneven or inclined, it is placed at the four corners of the main body frame and the moving frame. There is a problem that it is impossible to move unless the length of each telescopic leg is adjusted. In particular, in the case of submarine deposits, it is necessary to excavate while climbing the inclined surface because resources are accumulated in a mountain shape. It is difficult to use.

  The conventional submarine mining machine is for cutting rocks for the purpose of relatively shallow submarine civil engineering. For example, in the deep sea over 3000 m, such as manganese nodules and cobalt craft, it is used for bottoming and cutting. There is a problem that many aspects are difficult to operate.

  Furthermore, the conventional submarine excavator requires a device for collecting the excavated crushed ore, and therefore requires a separate mining machine from the excavator, and thus requires a large mining mother ship. There is a problem that equipment costs and operation costs increase. In order to solve these problems, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Sho 63-130829 proposes a submarine excavator equipped with a mining machine. It is not only functional but also has a complicated structure and is difficult to maintain and maintain. Also, the one that is installed is mainly an excavator, and the portion of the collector is subordinate, and the performance is not sufficient.

JP-A-7-217361 JP 2004-143741 A JP-A-63-130829

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problem, and a method and unit for mining a seabed deposit with high work efficiency capable of easily and reliably mining and collecting a seabed deposit existing in the deep sea. It is an issue to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, the method for mining a seabed deposit according to the present invention is to attach a seabed deposit to an at least vertically swingable mounting boom provided at the front of a main body frame provided with a pair of left and right crawlers. The excavator for excavation and the excavator excavated by the excavator and the concentrator that collects the debris scattered on the sea floor are loaded on a mining mother ship with a mining machine that can be exchangeably mounted, and anchored at the mining site. The mining machine with the equipment attached is settled and settled at the mining position on the seabed, and after drilling the seabed deposit with the excavator to form a predetermined amount of crushed ore, the miner is lifted to the mining mother ship. The excavator is replaced with a concentrator, and the submersible pump is installed on the sea floor after the excavation formed by the excavator is settled and settled again on the bottom of the seabed and collected. Through Characterized by conveying on the mining mother ship.

  According to the present invention, the excavator is attached to the mining machine loaded from the mining mother ship anchored at the mining site, the ground is settled at a predetermined mining position on the sea floor, and the mining machine is self-propelled by the crawler. After excavation of the seabed deposit and completion of the predetermined excavation, the mining machine is lifted to the mining mother ship, and the mining machine is attached to the excavation ore position on the seabed with the mining equipment attached to the mining machine and collected. By being transported to, the mining operation can be efficiently performed using one mining machine.

  Further, in the present invention, when the mining machine is landed at a predetermined position on the sea floor from the mining mother ship, the position of the mining machine is mined by a signal from an underwater positioning device mounted on the mining machine and a deep sea camera with a viewfinder TV. By confirming on the mother ship and lowering it while adjusting the position with the thruster attached to the mining machine, it can be easily and easily planned even in the deep sea where there is tidal current etc. in the dark field state Can be bottomed.

  In addition, information on the seafloor mining position, collection position, and its surroundings is transmitted to the mining mother ship using an underwater positioning device mounted on the mining machine, a deep-sea camera with a viewfinder TV, and a sonar image. By setting the machine to the bottom, it is possible to bottom the mining machine at a predetermined planned position.

  Furthermore, after landing at a predetermined position on the seabed, an underwater position measurement device mounted on the mining machine, a deep sea camera with a viewfinder TV, and sonar images are used to mine abnormalities in the driving mechanisms such as the crawler and cutting drum of the mining machine. By checking on the mother ship, it is possible to respond immediately and to save useless time and work.

  In addition, after landing at the mining position on the seabed, the submersible positioning device mounted on the mining machine, a deep sea camera with a viewfinder TV, and the sonar so that the mining machine can be checked while confirming the moving distance and moving route on the ship. It can be moved and moved to a predetermined mining position, and after landing at the predetermined position on the seabed, the position and posture of the mining machine on the ship by the image from the deep sea camera with finder TV mounted on the mining machine The crawler and the cutting drum are remotely driven while confirming the above, and the seabed deposits can be easily and reliably mined and collected even in the deep sea of the night vision.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily and reliably mine and collect seabed deposits in the deep sea, and it is extremely efficient by raising and lowering the mining machine from the mining mother ship and improving the working efficiency on the seabed. Good mining and collection.

It is a side view of the state which decomposed | disassembled which shows preferable embodiment about the mining machine used for this invention. It is a top view which shows the main body about the mining machine in embodiment shown in FIG. It is a side view of the state which mounted | wore the excavation apparatus in embodiment about the mining machine shown in FIG. It is a side view of the state which mounted | wore the mineral collection apparatus in embodiment about the mining machine shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition using the mining machine in embodiment shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition using the mining machine in embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a use state using the mining machine in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. It is expansion explanatory drawing which shows the different use condition using the mining machine in embodiment shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition using the mining machine in embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged explanatory view showing different usage states using the mining machine in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a mining machine 1 used in a mining unit used for carrying out the method for mining a seabed deposit according to the present invention. The mining machine 1 includes a pair of left and right crawlers 11. A slide boom 13 that is slidable in the front-rear direction is disposed on the main body frame 12, and a mounting boom 16 that is swingable up and down by telescopic cylinders 15, 15 is disposed at the front of the slide boom 13. .

  The crawlers 11 and 11 are not different from those used on land, but can operate even in high-pressure seawater. For example, the crawlers 11 and 11 are mounted on a main body frame 12 such as a motor or a speed reducer disposed on the rear drive wheel 17. The vehicle travels by driving means (not shown), and in the present embodiment, it is operated by wire from the ship using, for example, an umpirical cable (not shown).

  Further, the excavator 2 used for excavating the seabed deposit and the excavator 2 for excavating by the excavator 2 and collecting ore scattered on the seabed are exchangeably attached to the mounting boom 16.

  In the present embodiment, the excavator 2 includes a rotary drive unit 21 such as a hydraulic motor at the rear, and a plurality of excavation bits (not shown) projecting around the periphery rotated by the rotary drive unit 21. The excavating drum 22 is provided, and is detachably mounted on the mounting boom 16 at a mounting portion 23 provided at the rear.

Moreover, the said mineral collection apparatus 3 is the mineral collection nozzle 32 which formed the suction inlet 31 in the front-end | tip attached to the said attachment boom 16 so that removal is possible, the mineral collection pipe 33 arrange | positioned over the front-and-back of the main body frame 12, and the said A flexible pipe 34 connecting the collection nozzle 32 and the collection pipe 33, and a transfer hose connected to the rear end of the collection pipe 33 and connected to a suction port of a submersible pump installed at a predetermined position on the seabed to be described later. 35.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the mining machine 1 can be kept on the main body frame 12 in a stable posture at the time of excavation so that the mining machine 1 can run normally even under high pressure in the deep sea. In order to be able to do so, the counterweight 111 is arranged on the rear side, and the outrigger 18 is installed so as to maintain a stable state on the seabed or the seabed deposit.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the mining machine 1 is provided with an underwater position measuring device, a sonar, a thruster (not shown), a deep sea camera (FDC) 19 with a finder TV, and the like.

  Next, the mining method of the seabed deposit according to the present invention using the mining unit of the seabed deposit will be described.

  FIGS. 5 to 10 show an example of an embodiment of a mining method for a seabed deposit according to the present invention using the mining machine 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and the seabed deposit according to the present invention is shown in FIG. The mining unit mainly includes the mining machine 1 and a submersible pump 4 disposed at a predetermined position on the seabed, and a mining mother ship 5 that carries these and their accessories and equipment (not shown) and transports them to the site of the seabed deposit. In particular, the mining mother ship 5 includes an elevator 51 that raises and lowers each device such as the mining machine 1 and the submersible pump 4, and various sensors and control units for remotely operating each device that reaches the sea floor. 52, and a loading box 53 for loading crushed ore mined from a seabed deposit transported from the seabed.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, equipment such as the mining machine 1 is loaded on the mining mother ship 5 and transported to the sea area of the mining site, and the elevator 51 equipped with the mining machine 1 and the like in advance is used in advance. Land at the predetermined location on the seabed that was being investigated.

  At this time, in the present embodiment, the excavator 2 is first attached to the mining machine 1 and is suspended by the elevator 51 with a wire or the like to land on the sea floor. There are usually meters, and there are winds and waves on the sea, so the mining mother ship 5 cannot be pinned at a predetermined position on the sea. Since it becomes floating, it is extremely difficult to land at a predetermined position on the seabed in the deep sea.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the mining machine 1 is confirmed on the mining mother ship 5 while being submerged on the seabed 6 using the underwater positioning device mounted on the mining machine 1, the thruster, and the deep sea camera 19 with a finder TV. Thus, it is possible to reliably settle to a predetermined mining position that has been measured in advance.

  Specifically, for example, when a horizontal displacement occurs with respect to a predetermined landing point due to the influence of the tidal current, the mining mother ship 5 is steered to correct the position, and the mining machine 1 itself rotates due to the tidal current or the like. In such a case, the level is checked with a level or azimuth diameter mounted on the mining machine 1 and corrected to a correct position by a thruster (not shown). In addition, the mechanism of the mining machine 1 and the operation of the mounted equipment are all remotely controlled basically by wire by the control device 52 installed in the mining mother ship 5 (the same applies hereinafter).

And in this Embodiment, before making the mining machine 1 settled to the seabed bottom, the position information from the underwater positioning device mounted on the mining machine 1 and the deep sea camera 19 with a finder TV and sonar The image is visually confirmed by a control monitoring monitor (not shown) of the control device 4 in the mining mother ship 5 to confirm that it is at a predetermined position and that there is no hindrance to the landing, and then is settled.

  Accordingly, since the bottoming is performed safely, there is no fear of damage to equipment such as the mining machine 1, and since the information on the bottoming point can be obtained, the subsequent work can be performed quickly and reliably without waste.

  Further, in the present embodiment, after the bottoming, the operation of the excavation drum 22 and the crawlers 11 and 11 is confirmed to confirm that there is no influence due to the impact force or water pressure at the bottoming. About these confirmation, various sensors etc. are installed in each apparatus, and the detection signal from them can be confirmed by the control apparatus 52 on the mining mother ship 5 (not shown). In particular, in the present embodiment, the mining machine 1 is equipped with a deep-sea camera 19 with a viewfinder TV, a sonar, etc., so that these devices can be used not only for the mining machine 1 but also for the mining machine 1 itself. The crawler is installed at the position where it can be obtained or separately equipped with an image of its own equipment, transmitted to the control device 51 of the mining mother ship 5 and confirmed with an image that there is no more major equipment. 11 and 11 and abnormality about drive mechanisms, such as the cutting drum 22, can be confirmed.

  The mining machine 1 that has landed in this manner drives the crawlers 11 and 11 to travel on the seabed, and travels and moves toward a predetermined seabed deposit. At this time, in the present embodiment, the detection signal from the underwater position measurement device and direction sensor mounted on the mining machine 1, the deep sea camera 19 with finder TV, and the image from the sonar are displayed on the control device 52 control monitoring monitor ( It is possible to move to a predetermined mining position surely and quickly by traveling while confirming the moving distance and the moving route on the ship. Of course, it is possible to move to the target location by avoiding the faulty location by checking the information in front of the mining machine 1 from the underwater positioning device, the deep sea camera 19 with finder TV, and the sonar.

  In this embodiment, since the crawlers 11 and 11 are used as the traveling means of the mining machine 1, even if the sea floor has irregularities or an inclined surface, it can travel quickly and without any problem regardless of the direction. It can be stopped reliably at the mining site.

  6, the mining machine 1 is disposed at a predetermined mining position of the seabed deposit 7 as shown in FIG. 6, and the drilling apparatus provided with the seabed deposit 7 at the tip of the seabed deposit 1 as shown in FIG. 7. Mining with the excavating drum 22 of No. 2 to make the ore 8.

  At this time, in the present embodiment, the position, posture, etc. of the mining machine are confirmed in the control monitoring monitor of the control device 52 in the mining mother ship 5 based on the image from the deep sea camera 19 with a finder TV mounted on the mining machine 1 and sonar. While the crawlers 11, 11 and the cutting drum 22 are driven remotely, excavation is performed. In particular, as shown in FIG. 8, when the seabed deposit 7 is an ascending steep slope, excavation can be performed in a stable posture without worrying about slipping down using the outrigger 18 depending on the situation.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the counterweight 111 is mounted behind the main body frame 12, the seabed 6 can be surely traveled in the deep sea under high pressure without the influence of buoyancy and tidal currents.

  In this way, the submarine deposit 7 is excavated to form the crushed 8, and the mining machine 1 is advanced while the ground is leveled by the crawlers 11 and 11. The excavation work is stopped when a predetermined planned mining amount or excavation time elapses, and the mining machine 1 is pulled up to the mining mother ship 5 by a procedure reverse to that when the mining machine 1 is lowered to the seabed.

  Next, the drilling device 2 of the mining machine 1 pulled up to the mining mother ship 5 is removed from the boom 16, and instead the mining device 3 is attached as shown in FIG. 4, and the drilling device 2 shown in FIG. The bottom of the seabed is settled by the same procedure as that for mounting the bottom of the seabed.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the rear end of the collecting pipe 33 mounted on the mining machine 1 is connected to the submersible pump 4 installed on the seabed 6 via the transfer hose 35, and the submersible pump 4 is further discharged. A flexible riser 41 is connected between the outlet and the mining mother ship 5.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 10, efficiency is achieved in a short time by collecting and transporting to the mining mother ship 5 the ore 8 formed by excavating the seabed deposit with the mining machine 1 with the excavator 2 attached. It is possible to collect seabed resources well.

  More specifically, in this embodiment, the mining machine 1 sucks the crushed 8 formed by excavation by the mining machine 1 to which the excavator 2 is attached from the suction port 31 formed at the tip of the collection nozzle 32. , It is conveyed to the submersible pump 4 via a transfer hose 35 connected to the rear end of the collection pipe 33 installed in the main body frame 12 through a flexible pipe 34 connected to the rear end of the collection nozzle 32, and further flexible. It is transported to the mining mother ship 5 by the riser 41 and loaded on a loading box 53 installed in the mining mother ship 5.

  When the predetermined mining operation is completed, the mining machine 1 is pulled up to the mining mother ship 5 and returned to the port, and the collected seabed mineral is unloaded.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the crushed ore excavated and excavated by one mining machine 1 can be collected, which is advantageous in terms of equipment, and the mining mother ship 5 has a mining machine. It is not necessary to load a mining machine, and the work can be performed by the small mining mother ship 5, which is highly mobile and economical.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mining machine, 2 Drilling device, 3 Mining device, 4 Submersible pump, 5 Mining mother ship, 7 Seabed deposit, 8 Mining, 11 Crawler, 12 Body frame, 13 Mounting boom, 19 Deep sea camera with finder TV, 22 Cutting drum 32 Suction nozzle

Claims (7)

  A drilling device for drilling a seabed deposit on at least an up-and-down swingable mounting boom provided at the front of a main body frame provided with a pair of left and right crawlers, and collecting ore scattered by the drilling device and scattered on the seabed A mining machine that can be installed in a replaceable manner is installed on the mining mother ship, anchored at the mining site, and the mining machine with the excavator attached is settled and settled at the mining position on the seabed. Then, after excavating the seabed deposit with the drilling device to form a predetermined amount of crushed ore, the mining machine is lifted to the mining mother ship, the drilling device is replaced with a concentrator, and the crushed ore deposit position on the seabed is again A method for mining a seabed deposit, characterized in that the crushed ore formed by subsidence and bottoming is collected by the mining device and conveyed onto the mining mother ship via an underwater pump installed on the seabed. .   The submerged position measurement device mounted on the mining machine, a thruster, and a deep sea camera with a viewfinder TV are used to set the position of the mining machine on the mining mother ship and to sink to the mining position on the seabed. Mining method of seabed deposits.   The submarine mining position and its peripheral information are mounted on the mining machine, an underwater position measurement device, a deep-sea camera with a viewfinder TV, and a sonar image to confirm on the mining mother ship, and then the bottom of the mining machine is characterized. The method for mining a submarine deposit according to claim 1 or 2.   After landing at the mining position on the seabed, the submarine positioning device mounted on the mining machine, a deep-sea camera with a viewfinder TV, and sonar images indicate abnormalities on the mining machine's crawlers and cutting drums on the mining mother ship. The method for mining a seabed deposit according to claim 1, wherein the method is confirmed.   After the mining machine settles at the mining position on the seabed, the mining machine confirms the moving distance and moving route on the ship based on the image from the underwater positioning device mounted on the mining machine, the deep sea camera with finder TV, and sonar. The mining method for a submarine deposit according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the mining machine is moved to a predetermined position.   After the mining machine has landed at the mining position on the seabed, after landing at a predetermined position on the seabed, based on the deep sea camera with finder TV mounted on the mining machine, a spirit level, a direction meter, images from sonar, etc. The submarine ore deposit according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein the operation is carried out by remotely driving the crawler and the cutting drum while confirming the position and orientation of the mining machine on a ship. Method. A cutting drum and a suction nozzle for excavating and depositing a submarine deposit are provided in the front so as to be replaceable, and a mining machine that is self-propelled by a crawler, a submersible pump arranged at a mining position on the seabed, and the mining machine A mining unit for a submarine deposit, which comprises a mining mother ship loaded with a mining machine and implements the mining method for a submarine deposit according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.