An innovative remote sensing service to assess mineral resources on the seabed contributes to sustainability in resource exploitation and offers new opportunities for Portugal on the international stage.
The Welding and Quality Institute (ISQ) has launched its first digital services based on remote sensing to assess the existence and abundance of mineral resources on the seabed across a wide area of the ocean. This service is aimed at international clients and throughout a six-month period it will estimate the existence and abundance of resources such as copper, nickel, manganese and cobalt on the ocean floor.
The technology developed by the ISQ uses Artificial Intelligence tools to collect information from various sources, including satellites, and it can indicate with a sufficient level of accuracy the distribution of these mineral resources in a given area of the ocean floor. This competence was developed from scratch by the ISQ, from concept definition to product marketing, in a technology development process that lasted about five years, with the support of the European Space Agency and the participation of industrial entities, ocean research centers and multilateral agencies.
Pedro Matias, president of the ISQ, explains that this same technology could be applied in other parts of the world and that Portugal has a unique opportunity to benefit from this, especially with the possible extension of the continental shelf, which could provide the country with one of the largest mineral reserves on the seabed. “If they exist and are exploited, these reserves could lead to enormous wealth for the country. It would be similar to Portugal having oil or gas”, states Pedro Matias in a press release issued by the ISQ.
The ISQ’s remote sensing technology has already been applied in the Pacific Ocean, specifically in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, with high levels of accuracy and promising results. The ISQ’s launch of this new service is helping it democratize access to the assessment of mineral resources on the seabed and it is contributing to the development of sustainability in resource exploitation.
