The scientists, from the University of Bergen in Norway, are sending robots 2,500 metres (8,000 feet) down into the waters between Norway and Greenland.
Blockchain technology and the smart contracts it enables are the next innovations the mining industry needs to adopt in order to improve efficiencies and increase market transparency, a paper published by global law firm White & Case says.
China, the world's biggest consumer of the steelmaking ingredient, has ramped up buying of higher-quality, less polluting grades of iron ore as it battles to clear its notoriously smoggy skies.
Australian mineral sands developer Sheffield Resources said on Wednesday it will receive a $69 million loan from Australia's northern infrastructure fund to help develop its Thunderbird project.