In China, the research on the collecting technique for mining ocean polymetallic nodules, starting in 1990s, is one of major study subjects of the ocean polymetallic nodule exploration project. During the eighth five-year plan, based on theoretical studies, two model collectors were developed, of which the various technical indices had reached design requirements, and a complex laboratory for deep-sea mining had been constructed which covered a floor space of 4000 square meters. During the ninth five-year p...