A method of mining and processing seabed sediment

摘要

A method and apparatus for mining and treating seabed deposits comprising disrupting deposits at the seabed (3) to form a sludge; conveying the sludge to the surface via a production riser (6) and treating the sludge to separate hydrates and remove hydrates from the sludge in gaseous form at the surface. The sludge may also contain sapropel and minerals. In this case, the sludge can be divided into a mineral-rich stream and a sapropel-rich stream, each of which can be subjected to further treatment.