National Institute of Oceanography scientists discover wonder nodules in Indian Ocean

Kept in a tray on a table-top, they look like half-baked potatoes from a distance. But these potato-like objects are in fact poly metallic nodules, the latest 'wonder' discovery of "Gaveshani" a research ship of the National Institute of Oceanography. Found in the cool, uncharted sea bed of the Indian ocean, these nodules - consisting of a concentrated mixture of precious metals like nickel and cobalt - have given a big boost to India's fledgeling research in ocean mining.Only six countries, the US, the USSR, West Germany, France, the UK and Japan have made strides in the field. These nodules contain, in varying proportions - nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, and traces of gold. Samples of these precious "potatoes" were hauled up from a depth of 4,500 metres by "Gaveshani" in January last. But the ship returned from her cruise to Mauritius only last fortnight. "We were on a routine cruise", said Dr Syed Qasim, the tall and handsome director of the institute, who was on board along with 15 other scientists. "It was on the morning of Republic Day that we hauled up these nodules. Obviously there was tremendous excitement once we knew what they contained. The news was first flashed to Delhi. and promptly the message of congratulations from the prime minister reached us. That called for a night of celebrations on the ship." Three years of careful planning and hard work has preceded the discovery. Some of the scientists on board claim that this is the second major discovery in the sea after the oil in Bombay High.Sample of the wonder nodules(left) and Dr Qasim on board Gaveshani: The miraculous find called for a celebrationGaveshani - a Sanskrit word meaning researcher - is a medium class (1.900 tonnes) research ship. It was converted into a research vessel from a hopper barge by the Garden Reach Workshop of Calcutta in 1975. The ship is a sophisticated floating laboratory equipped with sonar, radar, deep echo-sounder, deep-sea cameras and satellite position fixing system. Its nodule collecting gear consists of a 10,000-metre long winch for lowering the dredgers and an underwater camera for stereo photography of the bed. But the real job is done by a white, giant cigar-shaped instruments called "boomerang" grabs which go deep down like a vertically fired torpedo, collect the nodules and come up automatically to the surface. Several kilogrammes of these nodules were hauled up during this cruise. They range up to 8.3 cms in size and about 200 gms in weight. Roughly a square metre of sea bed contains about 2.5 kgs of nodules, says Dr Qasim.A million tonnes of those nodules, could produce 15,000 tonnes of nickel, 12,000 tonnes of copper, 1,500 tonnes of cobalt and 60,000 tonnes of manganese, besides an unknown quantity of gold, which will be in kilogrammes. The total nodule reserves in the oceans are estimated at 2.000 billion tonnes. How much of it Gaveshani has discovered, is too early to say. But several cruises like the last one will have to be carried out before deciding the extent of the mineral reserve and more important, the scope for commercial prospecting.Currently, the country imports all its nickle and cobalt and about 60 per cent of the copper it needs. The new find augurs well for the future of sea bed mining. It is estimated that reserves of the nodules are somewhere between Lakshadweep islands and Mauritius, in the Indian ocean. Fortunately, according to Dr Qasim, the nodules deposits are well within India's economic zone, thereby giving her the right to exclusive ownership.Gaveshani discovered the nodules in the Mauritius economic zone as well. This news got wide publicity in that country, soon after Gaveshani anchored at Port Louis. Mauritius is expected to join hands with India in the exploration of the sea bed. Prior to that, Gaveshani plans to collect minerals from the central Indian ocean about 1,600 kms directly south of Sri Lanka and also map the entire sea bed from where the nodules were hauled up last January. Also included in the programme is the exploration of sea floor off the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, a potentially nodule-rich region.Ocean mining exploration is itself a costly exercise. Trans-national companies have spent over three billion dollars (Rs 24,000 crore) in developing mining technology. Japan, for instance, has set up an Industrial Ocean Minerals Association for 38 member companies that includes industrial giants like Mitsubushi. They are launching a $105 million (about Rs 84 crore) project to develop a technology to commence mining of the nodules in the Pacific in 1986. The 'potato' find will no doubt give a fillip to India's embrvonic ocean mining efforts and perhaps lay the necessary foundation towards catching up with other world leaders in the field.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 23, 2013 09:34 IST--- ENDS ---

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National Institute of Oceanography scientists discover wonder nodules in Indian Ocean

Kept in a tray on a table-top, they look like half-baked potatoes from a distance. But these potato-like objects are in fact poly metallic nodules, the latest 'wonder' discovery of "Gaveshani" a research ship of the National Institute of Oceanography.

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