In today's world, aerospace, rail transit, new energy vehicles, and other industries are thriving and the continual development of these industries depends on the supply of mineral resources, and it is urgent to progress the exploration and exploitation of metal mineral resources. With the advent of the Industry 4.0 era, marine mineral resources have become a primary focus as there is an abundance of these resources. It has been proved that there are a large number of ore resources such as polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulfides, and cobalt-rich crusts in the seabed. However, due to backward mining technology, the utilization rate of marine mineral resources is still very low and cannot meet the requirements of resource utilization and sustainable development. Therefore, it is necessary to research deep-sea mining technology to meet the growing demand for marine resources.

Managing the extreme environment of the deep sea is the ultimate challenge for the exploitation of marine mineral resources. Low temperature, high pressure, and special substrate conditions have a great influence on the stable operation of ore collection and on transportation equipment. In recent years, researchers have carried out theoretical and experimental studies on the operation of crawler collectors and hydraulic pipeline lifting. However, the engineering disaster risks related to deep-sea sediments are not fully reflected in existing ore collecting theories or models. In addition, there are many problems that require further study, such as complex multiphase coupling mechanisms, the intelligent cooperative operation of multi-equipment systems, and so on. In deep-sea mining, solving these problems will require the analysis of big data, which can help optimize collection efficiency, save energy and improve collection equipment. In an Industry 4.0 environment, the collection and analysis of different data sources (mineral collection systems, mine carriage travel systems, mineral transport systems, etc.) will become standard procedure for real-time decision-making in the future deep-sea mining industry. In deep-sea mining engineering design, simulation technology will expand to a broader scope in the deep-sea mining industry. Real-time data can be used to mimic the physical world including mining machines, and deep-sea environments, and new models can be put into virtual production environments. These new models can be tested and optimized before proceeding to real-life production.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest research achievements in mathematical theories, analytical models, cutting-edge technologies, and disaster prevention methods in seabed mining engineering. We welcome both original research and review articles.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Fluid-solid interaction mechanisms in complex flow field
• Study on efficiency of hydraulic ore collecting
• Rheological properties of deep-sea subsoil
• Track and sediment interface contact model
• Mechanism analysis of track-ground coupling system
• Design technology of collection vehicle suitable for deep-sea sediment
• Dynamic characteristics of mixed-transport systems under complex sea conditions
• Mixing pump parameter matching design technology
• Intelligent flow mode control technology for mixed-transport systems
• Structural health monitoring technology for mixed-transport systems