<P> Hydrothermal vents, in some instances, have led to the formation of exploitable mineral resources via deposition of seafloor massive sulfide deposits . The Mount Isa orebody located in Queensland, Australia, is an excellent example . Many hydrothermal vents are rich in cobalt, gold, copper, and rare earth metals essential for electronic components . Hydrothermal venting on the Archean seafloor is considered to have formed Algoma - type banded iron formations which have been a source of iron ore . </P> <P> Recently, mineral exploration companies, driven by the elevated price activity in the base metals sector during the mid-2000s, have turned their attention to extraction of mineral resources from hydrothermal fields on the seafloor . Significant cost reductions are, in theory, possible . </P> <P> Two companies are currently engaged in the late stages of commencing to mine seafloor massive sulfides . Nautilus Minerals is in the advanced stages of commencing extraction from its Solwarra deposit, in the Bismarck Archipelago, and Neptune Minerals is at an earlier stage with its Rumble II West deposit, located on the Kermadec Arc, near the Kermadec Islands . Both companies are proposing using modified existing technology . Nautilus Minerals, in partnership with Placer Dome (now part of Barrick Gold), succeeded in 2006 in returning over 10 metric tons of mined SMS to the surface using modified drum cutters mounted on an ROV, a world first . Neptune Minerals in 2007 succeeded in recovering SMS sediment samples using a modified oil industry suction pump mounted on an ROV, also a world first . </P> <P> Potential seafloor mining has environmental impacts including dust plumes from mining machinery affecting filter - feeding organisms, collapsing or reopening vents, methane clathrate release, or even sub-oceanic land slides . A large amount of work is currently being engaged in by both the above - mentioned companies to ensure that potential environmental impacts of seafloor mining are well understood and control measures are implemented, before exploitation commences . </P>

Where were deep-sea hydrothermal vents first discovered 25 years ago