| 摘要 |
A deep sea mining apparatus and method for mining mineral nodules from the ocean floor, comprises at least one surface ship and preferably a plurality of nodule harvesting or mining machines supported from the surface ship and resting on the ocean floor for movement along the ocean floor and including nodule gathering devices to gather the mineral nodules as the machine passes over the ocean floor. The nodule harvesting machines include separable, nodule-containing crates which, when full, are lifted to the surface where they are recovered by a surface ship. The crates are emptied of their contents and subsequently returned to the machines on the ocean floor to be refilled. The placement and guidance of the harvesting machines on the ocean floor is controlled by sonar devices and television cameras and the like.
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