Francis Marsac

Seamounts are active or extinct volcanoes located on mid-oceanic rifts or intra-plate hot spots. Because of their magmatic origin, seamounts contain mineral resources. A crust of ferromanganese oxide enriched with cobalt, copper, manganese and sulphur has accumulated around the oldest reliefs. These reserves could exceed the quantities currently present on the continents, but their extraction cost remains prohibitive to be profitable.