Deep-seafloor mining is a complex topic that leaves out a crucial starting point: mining the potato-sized rocks on the seafloor called “nodules” only yields four metals of any economic consequence: nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. Since copper and manganese are plentiful on land, deep-seafloor mining is really all about nickel and cobalt. And, unlike many have tried to claim, you cannot in fact get meaningful amounts of rare earth elements from the seafloor.
In the early 2020s, deep-seafloor mining was advertised as a source of key metals for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. However, battery technology has moved dramatically forward with new chemistries that require no cobalt or nickel and instead use inexpensive iron, phosphorus, and sodium.
Cobalt and nickel prices have collapsed since 2022 and both are now in oversupply worldwide. In other words, cobalt- and nickel-based batteries are yesterday’s technology. With the EV battery narrative collapsing, Canadian deep-sea mining firm and global leader in the field, The Metals Company (TMC), recently shifted its marketing away from batteries to instead advertise that seafloor mining is a way for the United States to obtain “critical metals.”
For the rest of this article: https://time.com/7287891/deep-sea-mining-economics-dont-add-up/