II Workshop E-Merge Project
São Paulo, Brazil
15th and 16th April 2024
The workshop
The project "E-Merge, Multidisciplinary study of the Rio Grande Rise: Sustainable exploration of e-tech mineral resources” is approved by Finep (Financier of Studies and Projects), MCTI (Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil). This project is the continuation of the completed FAPESP project “Marine E-Tech elements” (process 2014/50820-7). The proposal comprises a multidisciplinary research that integrates geology, geophysics, geochemistry, metagenesis, hydrography, microbiology, marine biology, metallurgy, political science, law and psychology in order to understand:
1) The local processes of formation of marine polymetallic deposits in the Rio Grande Rise (South Atlantic), with particular interest in “critical” raw materials (strategic metals such as cobalt, nickel, tellurium and rare earth elements), so called due to their growing economic importance and essential contribution for emerging technologies (green-economy) and new electronic technologies, which have a high economic impact due to the current scarcity of supply of elements and minerals called “e-tech minerals”.
2) The potential environmental and social impacts resulting from an potential extraction of e-tech mineral resources in the deep sea and the new low-carbon approaches to the recovery of e-tech elements.
This workshop meeting aims to discuss the new initiatives to be taken in terms of the data and samples obtained during previous projects. The event will provide a multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of deep-sea ferromanganese deposits. The meeting will also be open to external participants such as researchers, undergraduate, and graduate students as well as staff from government and private organizations. This workshop will be held for four days from 15th – 16th August 2024, following a program that will include:
(1) Lectures by renowned researchers on the exploration of the deep-sea ferromanganese deposits, especially from the Rio Grande Rise;
(2) Oral and poster presentations on completed and ongoing research under the thematic project; and
(3) Arrangements of working groups for the future research and new publications on data and samples.
The initiative of this event will be remarkable in the scenario of the great international significance of marine mineral deposits.
Day 2 -20th November 2019
Day 1 -15th April 2024
Time Speaker Topic
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08:30 Luigi Jovane Introduction and multidisciplinary Research in Rio Grande Rise
09:00 Pro-Reitor Prof Paulo Importância do Apoio Acadêmico PRO-REITORIA USP
09:15 Prabodha Das Bottom water interaction on the Rio grande Rise seafloor- clues from sea surface morphology
09:45 Gustavo Massola Percepção Social da Mineração
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10:15 Coffee Break
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10:35 Pedro Walfir The circulation on the Rio Grande Rise
11:05 Alexandre H. Ferraz Geological survey and characterization of a giant submarine cavity in carbonate beds, Cruzeiro do Sul Rift, Rio Grande Rise (SW Atlantic)
11:35 Carol Silva Chemical-mineralogical characterization of critical elements into ferromanganese crusts
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12:05 Lunch Break
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14:00 Christian Millo Petrobras- USP Cruise to RGR 2023
14:15 Pedro Bauli Magnetometric Survey and Preliminary Results - COGES_4_ERG_2023 Expedition (NPqHo Vital de Oliveira)
14:30 Daniel Dubois
14:45 Thales C. Felipe Exploring Biogenic Pathways in the Formation of FeMn Oxides: Insights from Shark Teeth Incrustations
15:15 Discussion on lists of research goals on future activities
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15:30 Coffee Break
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15:45 Eduardo Monlevade Estudos preliminares da extração de elementos estratégicos de nódulos Fe-Mn
16:15 Júlia Guerra Petrology of the Eocene alkaline volcanism from the western Rio Grande Rise, South Atlantic Ocean
16:45 Discussion on lists of research goals on future activities
17:15 Discussion by groups of the white papers - 10 minutes each
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18:00 End of the day
Day 2 -16th April 2024
Time Speaker Topic
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08:30 Marcio Yamamoto Exploitation Systems for Deep Sea Mining
09:00 Diretor Paulo Sumida Comunidades bentônicas da Elevação do Rio Grande Rise
09:30 Marcelo Cecconi Aplicação de terras raras em conversão e armazenamento de luz e catálise de captura de CO2
10:00 Vivian Pellizari Microbial Community in Cobalt-rich Crusts of the Rio Grande Rise
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10:30 Coffee Break
10:45 Valdecir Janasi Geochronology and possible origins of crystalline continental rocks from the RGR
11:15 Solange Teles Mineração no mar a luz do princípio da precaução
Mauricio D. dos Santos Presenting together with Prof. Solange Teles
Catherine Reboucas Presenting together with Prof. Solange Teles
11:45 Diogo Grion O impacto da governança internacional dos recursos minerais marinhos na regulação nacional
12:15 Lunch Break
14:00 Izabel King Situação atual do projeto LEPLAC
14:30 Luciana Felicio Ocorrências de Crostas de Ferromanganesiferas Ricas em Cobalto no Atlântico Sul: o caso da Elevação do Rio Grande
15:00 Petrobras Petrobras e RGR - Energias Renováveis
15:30 Discussion by groups of the white papers - 10 minutes each
End of Day and Event
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