Blue Atlantis will establish the world’s only deep-sea mining test facility, covering RTD, mining tests, standards development and market access support. The consortium has 45 partners from 8 European countries along the entire value chain. Deep-sea mining has gone from a distant possibility to a likely reality within just a decade. There is a growing imperative for a better defined EU policy in this area. There are three good reasons why a deep-sea mining test in Europe would be important. First, securing raw materials for European industry, which depends on importing most strategic and critical metals, including: Co, Cu, Ga, Nb, Pt group metals, Ti, W, Zn, Au, Ag and Rare Earths. Second, Europe’s leadership in advanced deep-sea technologies will be further enhanced on a global scale. Third, new education, skills and knowledge will be offered by universities and research centers.The Consortium covers 45 partners from 8 European countries. These partners will be involved in 13 work packages: 1. Project management (3 partners) 2. MetOcean studies (7 partners) 3. Environmental monitoring and assessment (26 partners) 4. Exploration activities for SMS in the EEZ of the Azores (30 partners) 5. Mining Equipment Development (25 partners) 6. Evaluation of the R&D projects (18 partners) 7. Preparation of the mining test (17 partners) 8. Preparation of the mining support and production vessel (9 partners) 9. Mining test operation (19 partners) 10. Processing concepts and technologies (10 partners) 11. Standards and risk (8 partners) 12. Education and Training Programmes (15 partners) 13. Dialogue with Stakeholders (9 partners).

A short summary of the highlights of the project approach was given in the presentation delivered during the brockerage event in Brussels and is available as a Download here.