Behrouz Abtahi, Vice Chancellor for International Relations of Iran's Shahid Beheshti University, paid a working visit to the Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University. During the meeting with the Dean of the Mining Faculty Oleg Kazanin he discussed the prospects of co-operation between the two universities in the field of research related to deep-sea mining of solid minerals.
As the guest noted, the level of technologies enabling Tehran to produce hydrocarbons on the shelf is at a very high level. But the efficiency of methods of developing ore resources lying at the bottom of the seas and oceans still leaves much to be desired. None of them makes it possible to start work on an industrial scale because they are not profitable. However, exactly the same situation is characteristic of all countries without exception, not just the Islamic Republic.
"This is a very young but extremely promising area of scientific research. It is no secret that many seas and oceans contain enormous deposits of minerals, the extraction of which is not economically feasible at the moment. Our task is to find solutions that can change the situation, because the depth of mining operations on land is becoming greater and greater, and the content of the useful component in the rock - less and less. This means that in the long term, however distant, mankind will have to gradually abandon the exploitation of traditional deposits and substitute the lost volumes with something. After all, the demand for many metals will not decrease in the future, but, on the contrary, will only increase," emphasised Behrouz Abtahi.
At the moment, scientists are most interested in opportunities related to the mining of polymetallic nodules, which contain manganese, nickel, copper and a number of other metals. In addition, many states are providing grants for research into the development of polymetallic sulphide deposits and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.
"I have no doubt that joining forces always brings a much stronger result than working alone. The same is true of our Russian colleagues, who say that 'one head is good, but two heads are better'. Today we discussed the prospects of our partnership in general, without going into details, but I am confident that in the future we will be able to establish constructive co-operation and obtain significant scientific results in this area," said Behrouz Abtahi.
In conclusion, he congratulated the Empress Catherine the Great St Petersburg Mining University on its 250th anniversary, wishing the staff and students of the university health and creative longevity.