THE ECONOMICS OF DEEP SEA NODULES: AN APPRAISAL OF RECENT ESTIMATES

The metal resources of deep sea nodules are attracting investment from many international corporations. Commercial interest in nodule mining is related to, but not governed by, existing estimates of economic profitability of the first generation ventures. Mr. Chacko reviews some of the latest published figures on costs and revenues, and these are updated and put on a comparable basis. He then argues that more attention should be paid to the long-term objectives of corporate policy in analysing the future development of the nodule mining industry.