Neptune Minerals, Inc. was founded in January 2011 to explore and develop Seafloor Massive Sulfide (SMS) deposits.
SMS deposits exist on the ocean floor around volcanic arcs where hydrothermal vents have exhaled sulfide-rich mineralized fluids into the ocean, possibly over many years. These deposits are often rich in gold, silver, copper, zinc and/or lead. Neptune Minerals is focusing on non-active vent sites where temperatures, nutrients, flora and fauna are extremely low or non-existent.
SMS minerals extraction has several advantages over land-based mining. These include little or no overburden (i.e., material covering a resource), high base and precious metals content, marginal waste, mobile infrastructure and minimal social and environmental disruption.