Oceanic manganese nodules, for long the cornucopia of sea floor mineral deposits, have lost much of their economic attractiveness in recent years as a result of depressed metal prices and difficulties surrounding their potential extraction under the Law of the Sea Convention. In their place, commerical interest in mineral deposits within Exclusive Economic Zones has increased, while the scientific world is enamoured with the black smokers discharging at mid–ocean ridges and the polymetallic sulphides that precipitate from the