In the last ten years offshore mineral exploration programmes have
increasingly concentrated on the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zones
adjacent to coastal states. This book gives an integrated treatment of
the various mineral types occuring in these zones, their genesis,
distribution and economic importance. The book opens with a broad
overview of the subject and discusses the legislative issues relevant to
marine and mineral exploitation. Chapters then deal in turn with
aggregates, placers, precious coral, phosphorites, manganese nodules,
cobalt-rich manganese crusts and hydrothermal deposits. An international
set of case studies illustrates each type of deposit, many studies based
on the author's own experience in marine mineral evaluation programmes
around the world during the past 25 years.