Offshore Minerals Exploration
As a specialist in the delivery of high value, environmentally sustainable projects, MOCEAN is assessing the viability of St Austell Bay as an offshore minerals resource.
Rob Holtom, a Marine Specialist and most importantly a Cornishman, has taken responsibility for the planning of this innovative Offshore Minerals Exploration Project.
What do we want to Achieve?
The project aims include:
- Determine the location, size and value of the offshore mineral resource.
- Determine a safe, environmentally sustainable and economically viable method of locating and extracting the resource through the development of innovative exploration and extraction technologies.
- Export new capabilities to the global offshore minerals exploration market.
The creation of direct and indirect year round skilled jobs, integration with research and teaching institutions, as well as the support of local businesses and industries are all identified outcomes of this project.
Through a combination of environmental monitoring, geophysical surveys and geotechnical investigations we aim to determine the size, extent and viability of the resource. In doing so, we wish to pursue research and development projects as we engage with industry and academic institutions in establishing the best techniques, technologies and environmentally sustainable solutions to explore for and then extract the resource.
We're currently undertaking a desktop study and technical feasibility study to assess the viability of the project.
In order to de-risk investment in the project we're adopting a step by step approach, with each progression onto the next phase critically reviewed for continued investment and overall project viability. Our first step is to acquire and review existing datasets and historical documents pertaining to St Austell Bay and historic tin exploration undertaken in the area.
We've identified the opportunity to look for tin deposited in former river channels located offshore of St Austell; this builds on the work undertaken by Billiton (UK) Ltd in the early 1980’s for which we were awarded an Innovate UK grant to acquire, interpret and preserve the remaining charts, data and film footage.
Much of the tin understood to be in St Austell Bay originated from what is now the Cornish mainland; with the high density of mines and tin streaming activities around the Bay providing an indication of what is locked away in the former river channels that now lie beneath the sea.
During the last ice age, the sea was as much as 130m lower than today’s levels; this meant that fluvial systems such as the Par and St Austell rivers extended many miles out into what is now St Austell Bay and the English Channel. As the ice sheets retreated huge volumes of tin would have been eroded from what is now Polgooth and the Luxulyan valley, and then washed down these rivers as suspended sediment or as part of significant debris flows. As sea levels rose, these channels and the tin contained within them would have been inundated by the sea, lying undisturbed beneath the sand and gravels that now make up St Austell Bay.
Modern Day Tin Streamers
Tin Streamers have historically worked the alluvial sands and gravels in these river valleys and on the beaches of St Austell Bay. By diverting water over and through the tin deposits, millions of tonnes of light sand and silt was washed downriver in suspension, leaving behind the heavier tin-rich gravels which were then collected by hand and processed. This hard, labour intensive work generated huge profits for Cornwall, making it an internationally important tin producer as far back as the thirteenth Century, eventually leading to the tin mining that Cornwall is famous for.
However, the Tin Streamers stopped where the modern day rivers now meet the sea. By mapping out the onshore activities and known deposits (referred to as stanniferous placers), as well as current interpretations of where the paleo-river channels might be located, we can see huge potential in an offshore minerals exploration project focussed on extracting tin from beneath St Austell Bay.
Today, it's highly likely that considerable volumes of tin remain in these narrow channels, buried under silt, sand and several metres of water; our objective is to determine a safe, environmentally sustainable and economically viable method of locating and extracting the resource, through the development of innovative exploration and extraction technologies.
A Social License to Operate
As a company based in the South West of England, with interests throughout the region, we place huge importance on being open and informative as we work alongside communities and other stakeholders to our activities in Cornwall. We want to contribute to the wider well-being of the natural environment and local communities, who we have a duty to inform and consult with at every stage of the exploration process, establishing the basis for balanced, informed and proactive discussions.
MOCEAN has previously undertaken a community liaison and stakeholder engagement exercise in order to gain initial feedback from local stakeholders. We plan to continue this work, and provide regular updates as the project progresses, as we look to consult with those who use the Bay, as well as the people, businesses and organisations in the surrounding area.
A Phased Exploration Programme
The exploration programme will be contingent upon the outcome of the Desktop Study, however it's likely to comprise a geophysical and bathymetric survey for several weeks over the summer months. The process will involve a survey vessel conducting non-intrusive operations as we search for the buried river channels and accurately map the seabed and environmental conditions.
Once the channels are mapped and the data analysed, we will then commission a sampling program in order to assess the true potential of St Austell Bay; again this is likely to take place over several weeks of the summer months. Should the project remain economically viable, we would then require licenses from the Crown Estate and a series of permits from the statutory bodies involving a significant amount of consultation, assessment, community engagement and environmental impact assessment. Having guided Horizon Nuclear Power through their permitting requirements, we are well prepared to deliver this phase of the project.
The above exploration phases comprise short term, temporary activities, however we still wish to alleviate any concerns that our neighbours have regarding the presence of marine vessels in the area, as well as minimise the impact of their exploration and appraisal activities on the seabed, marine environment and local businesses and users of the Bay.
Future Opportunities
Offshore minerals resources continue to play a key role in supplying commodity markets with large volumes of cheaply recovered minerals such as tin, gold, and iron, as well as diamonds.
However the extraction of offshore resources in the developing world has previously given little consideration to the long term impact on the environment, local workforce, communities and businesses that these activities have.
With the establishment of conscientious end users that insist on responsibly sourced materials, as well as government crack downs on poor environmental stewardship, we have identified the opportunity to develop an offshore minerals exploration and extraction capability..
Growth will be sustained by developing and marketing an innovative mineral exploration and extraction business, utilising new methodologies and techniques to identify, model, and extract offshore minerals deposits around the world. The St Austell Bay Project alone will likely create in excess of 30 new jobs over the lifespan of the project. With opportunities to employ our knowledge and technical innovations further afield, we see working with other private companies and public sector organisations in Cornwall and the South West as essential to bringing investment, growth and innovation to the region; as well as resurrecting the tin industry and sustaining Cornwall’s maritime heritage.
The Next Step
We're some way off undertaking our first exploration activities; as and when we have clarity of timing for the first phase of the work, we will let our stakeholders know. In the meantime we are working to deliver the project, identify Research and Development opportunities, as well as maintaining a positive relationship with stakeholders. We are also negotiating the terms of license applications with the Crown Estate.
Technical Director
