Apart from consideration of maritime rights such as fishing and navigation, seabed mines will not be accompanied by the potential land-use conflicts faced onshore. Rainforest and other terrestrial ecosystems, rivers, lakes, and transportation corridors will not be at risk. Moreover, unrecoverable infrastructure costs, such as community facilities, roads and railways will not be necessary. Once a deposit is mined, the mining system will be able to move on to the next deposit with minimal reclamation and abandonment of assets. Because of potential environmental impact concerns and also due to the technical challenges posed by super-heated water, DSM will mine only inactive sites, where large deposits occur near active vent sites but where active venting has ceased. Exploration for seabed VMS deposits presents a timely opportunity to conduct an unprecedented program in biotechnology. Biotechnology is the term used to describe the technologies devoted to the practical use of living organisms and their genetic products. Resultant products include medicines, nutritional additives, and improved chemical, energy and agricultural production. The search for such products, termed "bioprospecting," will begin during initial exploration cruises. Of particular interest for commercial purposes are the capabilities of the Archaea and other biota found at these hydrothermal vent sites (collectively termed "extremophiles") to conduct the basic processes of life at high temperatures and pressures and in the presence of high levels of generally toxic chemicals. The high priority prospects selected to date include a wide range of ecological communities, ranging from near-shore, shallow-water hot springs in the Mediterranean to deep seabed hydrothermal vents far from land in the South Pacific. To date, companies such as Diversa, New England Biolabs, Xechem International and others have already developed high value products from relatively low level and opportunistic bioprospecting efforts in extremophile communities. The comprehensive program to be undertaken by DSM has enormous potential to identify many such products and to take this general area to a vastly higher level of productivity. DSM plans to be a leader in this area by prudent and timely development of these biological resources. Deep Sea Minerals Company (DSM) is developing a unique program of exploration worldwide for seabed mineral deposits of copper, nickel, gold, and other metals. These deposits are found at and near active sites of hydrothermal venting, where hot-water mineral springs flow from the earth and deposit their mineral contents to form metal accumulations with economic potential. Also present at these sites are complete ecosystems which have evolved to convert the chemical and thermal energy contained in the hydrothermal flows into the basic organic materials of life. These hydrothermal ecosystems are of great interest to scientists, but they are also of great interest to the modern biotechnology industry because of the economic potential of enzymes and biochemical processes which occur in these extreme environments. Biotechnology is the term used to describe a collection of technologies that apply engineering and biochemical principles to the practical use of living organisms and their products. These technologies are being used to develop new medicines, nutritional additives, to improve yields from fish stocks, forest growth and agricultural crops, to promote energy production from biological sources, to improve treatment of liquid effluents, and to improve chemical production processes of all kinds. During the last decade, biotechnology industries have created valuable enabling technologies and have brought a number of novel and useful products into commercial production. Since 1980, biotechnology companies have produced breakthrough therapies for chronic anemia (EPO), hepatitis B and C (interferon alpha), multiple sclerosis (interferon beta), kidney cancer (IL-2), growth hormone deficiency (growth hormones), Gaucher's disease (Ceredase) and neutropenia (G-CSF, GM-CSF), as well as new treatments for heart attacks (t-PA) and cancer (interferon alpha). Biotechnological products are currently being used also in major chemical production plants to replace oil-based production with renewable production for plastics and other basic commodities. Products of biotechnology can be of two types: non-living or living. Non-living products of biotechnology are in reality specialty chemicals such as enzymes, biochemical products and biopolymers, and are used to make products such as beer, plastics and detergent additives. Live or animate products of biotechnology involve the use of micro-organisms, such as those designed to help clean up oil spills or as alternatives to traditional chemical pesticides, plants such as vegetables that retain their fresh quality longer, or animals such as fish that grow to maturity faster. For DSM, the non-living products will probably be the first targets for "bio-prospecting," since their collection does not depend on retrieval of living and viable organisms from the hydrothermal vent ecosystems, but collection only of the biological materials themselves. Enzymes from the micro-organisms at the vent sites are capable of functioning at boiling temperatures, very high pressures, and in the presence of very corrosive chemicals, such as sulphuric and hydrochloric acids. Such enzymes have great potential for chemical and biochemical industries, because their stability in extreme environments makes them good candidates for chemical reactor systems, where high temperatures, pressures, and chemical activities are necessary to produce products at efficient rates. Several biotechnology companies are currently exploring marine environments in search of useful enzymes for industrial application. New chemical screening techniques have been developed which allow rapid analysis of biological materials for potential commercial value. At least two of these marine biotechnology companies are using these screening techniques to focus on high temperature environments in their searches. DSM can offer unparalleled access to such environments for these companies and thus greatly accelerate the discovery process. The biotechnology experts can oversee collection and preservation of the biological samples during the same expeditions which map the metals deposits. Very little additional costs to DSM would be expected, since the same tools and operations used to find and sample the metal deposits can easily be applied, in some cases simultaneously, to the hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Thus, through collaboration with one or more marine biotechnology companies, DSM can make optimal use of its expenses for exploration and will have a high probability of generating a revenue stream which is completely independent of metals production and metals markets. Also, in focusing on the biological aspects of the prospect sites, much biological information can be obtained which is useful for environmental assessments of seabed mining and for public disclosure. Such pro-active collection of biological information will be very useful in efforts to de-fuse potentially vitriolic opposition from political environmental groups. Nature of Business The Marine Bioresources Division (MBD) has been established to "mine" or "bioprospect" the vast biological resource base offered by the world's oceans. Marine organisms, from single-celled bacteria to multi-celled animals, offer a portfolio of multi-billion dollar market bio-based products -- from industrial chemicals to life-saving drugs. Mining the oceans for minerals and metals, the primary focus of Deep Sea Minerals, offers an unprecedented opportunity for an additional business enterprise that may equal or even surpass the minerals business in the future. At the very least, MBD can act as a catalyst to start the process of developing new businesses coming out of "bioprospecting." MBD entails acquiring the biological resource base (marine life forms found at mining sites) and then transforming that base into new business opportunities through strategic partnerships with key scientific organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere. MBD is the "driver" that takes the resource base and connects it to global companies in the life sciences, chemical, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and food/feed industries. Revenues are generated by the distribution of organisms to other companies but more importantly through strategic development projects, joint ventures, royalties, licensing fees and other business arrangements. MBD, like the current human genome project which has been dramatically altered in approach last year through industrial participation and the incorporation of business incentives and effectiveness, offers the same possibility for leadership in another major area of scientific and commercial interest -- namely, marine biodiversity. MBD, as envisioned, will not only lead to products of immense value but will be a boon (and actually guardian) of many marine biological resources through the acquisition of organisms and the information contained in their genetic makeup. Many call the 21st century the "biotechnology century." MBD can not only be a contributor but even a leader based on technology and marine biodiversity. Marine Biodiversity Biological diversity (abundance) or biodiversity is best viewed in terms of three levels -- species, ecosytem and genetic diversity. Species diversity is the number of different distinct species found on this planet, while ecosystem diversity relates to particular geographic regions that encompass an ecosystem. Genetic diversity refers to the genetic differences that exist among species and even individuals in a population. While it is interesting to estimate the number of different species on earth and in the oceans, no single number exists that has any great reliability because no one has any accurate measurements of the varied organisms, even large ones. Guesstimates abound -- such as 275,000 marine species (out of a total of 1.8 million). Yet another guesstimate points to possibly 20 million marine species on Earth. From a phyla viewpoint, greater diversity exists in the marine world (43 phyla) than on the terrestrial world (with only 28 phyla). The important points about marine biodiversity are that: (1) numerous organisms exist, most not yet described or even cultured (grown); (2) these organisms have unique genes and produce unique products exhibiting interesting and often useful biological effects in humans or animals; (3) these genes represent the ultimate knowledge base -- as it is with human genes and the entire set of genes in any organism, i.e., the genome. Biodiversity should be viewed as the reservoir of new products. Unfortunately, it has also become a rallying point for some environmentalists. As such, even if there is no MBD, the primary mining business operation of Deep Sea Minerals would need to consider the environmental impact of its operations on the immediate biota (biodiversity) surrounding the mining site and its short- and long-term effects. Additionally, occupational and worker safety issues would need to be assessed from a biotic viewpoint. Marine biodiversity also has an intrinsic scientific value that MBD and the parent organization can use to mitigate concerns expressed by ecologists about food webs, population dynamics, toxicants, and other factors. In fact, appropriately controlled studies with access to samples and organisms would endear the biological community, even some harsh critics, to embrace the business efforts of MBD for their positive contributions to basic knowledge and the advancement of scientific inquiry. Marine biodiversity also has relevance to global change issues, especially those caused by biological mechanisms (such as carbon dioxide sequestration). Economic Benefits and Impact The full economic impact of MBD can only be realized through strategic partnerships and further developments of high-value commercial products destined for varied industries, especially the pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, nutraceutical, and life sciences business sectors. Further analysis is warranted as targets of opportunity are realized, but the drug industry offers a reasonable place to start and realize MBD's potential. The current drug business market is $325 billion worldwide and is expected to grow to $375 billion in the year 2000. While biotechnology products have not been the major part of the business sector to date, more than 60 biotech products have been approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration, with sales reaching $ 17 billion in 1997 (the last year of data available). Three products have markets in excess of $1 billion (the desired monetary target for a drug manufacturer) and seven have sales in excess of $250 million. Importantly, the growth in sales has been 20% or higher for the past several years and is expected to remain in double digits. At the same time, drug companies are in a frenzy to obtain new proprietary matters of composition by varied means such as combinatorial chemistry and biology. Ultimately, there i the desire and hope to "mine" the human genome data to develop new and effective treatments against many of mankind's diseases and maladies. However, at this time and for the next several decades to come, there is an ever-increasing need for isolating new chemical compounds (chemical entities as some call them) that show bioactivity toward infectious diseases, cancer, AIDS, and other maladies. Finding new chemicals from land-derived biological resources (i.e., soil microbes and plants) has diminished exponentially because these source have been largely tapped and "duplicates" (i.e., chemicals whose structure and action are already known) are being found more and more. This situation, of course, calls for new sources of organisms and chemicals to be examined from marine environments. While the drug market offers the "big hit" -- possibly up to $5-7 billion in sales from even just 35 new chemicals that would be effective drugs -- and cannot be denied, there are other targets that also are enticing and significant. Nutraccuticals, chemicals that show nutritional enhancements in humans (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids or antioxidants), represent a another $300 billion plus market. These are the products that are greatly desired by our aging population worldwide -- the baby boomers in the U.S. and other population segments in other countries and regions of the affluent world. Capturing only a few products can again lead to several multi-billion dollar markets (conservative estimate of $3-4 billion). Additionally, the specialty chemical and life sciences industries (now mostly involved in agricultural biotechnology applications) offer additional products that easily would generate revenues in the range of $2-3 billion and $3-5 billion, respectively, during the next decade. In fact, a hint of what is to come can be seen with a key specialty chemical, DNA polymerase -- the best source which is a vent organism -- that has a current market of about $100 million and forms the basis of much of today's DNA technology industry as practiced in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology that permits rapid duplication of DNA segments. Collectively, these four industrial sectors alone could generate total marine-derived bioproducts in the range of $13-22 billion per annum. Of course, some of these bioproducts could have multiple uses (in addition to the obvious) and could lead to higher revenues if other end product formulations and uses are considered.