Norway defends deep-sea mining, says it may help to break China and Russia’s rare earths stronghold – by Sam Meredith (CNBC.com January 29, 2024)

https://www.cnbc.com/

Norway says its controversial decision to approve deep-sea mining is a necessary step into the unknown that could help to break China and Russia’s rare earths dominance. In a vote earlier this month that attracted cross-party support, Norway’s parliament voted 80-20 to approve a government proposal to open a vast ocean area for commercial-scale deep-sea mining.

It makes the northern European country the first in the world to move forward with the process of extracting minerals from the seabed. Norway’s government said the practice could be one way to help facilitate the global transition away from fossil fuels, adding that every country should be exploring ways to sustainably collect metals and minerals at their disposal.

Read more

Norway becomes first country to back deep-sea mining despite environmental concerns – by Rosie Frost (Ero News – January 11, 2024)

https://www.euronews.com/

According to a study by the Environmental Justice Foundation published on the day of the vote, deep-sea mining is not needed for the clean energy transition.

Norway has become the first country in the world to greenlight the controversial practice of deep-sea mining. A bill passed in the Norwegian Parliament on Tuesday (9 January) will accelerate the undersea hunt for minerals needed to build green technology such as batteries for electric vehicles. It authorises opening up parts of the country’s sea to mining exploration.

Around 280,000 square metres of the country’s national waters could gradually be opened up – an area nearly the size of Italy located in the Arctic between Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland.

Read more

Deep-sea mining in the Arctic Ocean gets the green light from Norwegian lawmakers (Associated Press – December 5, 2023)

https://www.msn.com/

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s minority center-left government and two large opposition parties made a deal Tuesday to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration despite warnings by environmental groups that it would threaten the biodiversity of the vulnerable ecosystems in the area.

Norway said in June it wanted to open parts of the Norwegian continental shelf for commercial deep sea mining in line with the country’s strategy to seek new economic opportunities and reduce its reliance on oil and gas.

Read more

The promise and risks of deep-sea mining – by Daisy Chung, Ernest Scheyder and Clare Trainor (Reuters – November 15, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

A vast treasure of critical minerals lies on the ocean floor. Should they be extracted to help fight climate change?

The International Seabed Authority is working to set regulations for deep-sea mining as companies engaged in the clean energy transition clamor for more minerals. That transition will be a central focus at the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The most-prominent of the three proposed types of deep-sea mining involves using a giant robot that is sent down to the ocean floor from a support vessel.

This robot travels to depths of roughly 5,000 meters to the ocean floor — the least explored place on the planet. The seafloor, especially in parts of the Pacific Ocean, is covered by potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules that are filled with metals used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

Read more

UN body debates proposed regulations amid pressure to allow deep-sea mining – by Dánica Coto (Associated Press/Toronto Star – October 31, 2023)

https://www.thestar.com/

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Members of a U.N. body charged with protecting deep international waters met Tuesday to negotiate details of a proposed regulatory framework amid pressure to allow companies and countries to mine minerals from the ocean bed.

The nearly two-week meeting of the International Seabed Authority began Monday in Jamaica but was soon interrupted by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the island and forced organizers to cancel activities for the day. The quake prompted delegates from at least six countries to leave Jamaica, including Panama, Switzerland and New Zealand, all of which support a moratorium on deep-sea mining.

Read more

‘Deep Rising’ Review: Jason Momoa Narrates a Murky Doc on Deep-Sea Mining – by Frank Scheck (The Hollywood Reporter – January 21, 2023)

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

The actor also executive produced Matthieu Rytz’s film exploring the many issues concerning the mining of the ocean floor.

You can get visual whiplash while watching Matthieu Rytz’s documentary about the geopolitical, economic, social and ecological ramifications of mining the planet’s ocean floors for metals. One minute, you think you’re watching an IMAX documentary about gorgeous creatures of the deep, with enough amazingly translucent jellyfish on display to satisfy any stoner’s need for optical stimuli.

The next minute, there’s seemingly endless footage of discussions going on in corporate boardrooms, congressional hearings, investor meetings and cocktail parties, with the faces of many participants blurred out as if they were appearing on an episode of Cops.

Read more

Exploring deep ocean is ‘safer than an elevator’ says James Cameron – by Leyland Cecco (The Guardian – July 22, 2023)

https://www.theguardian.com/

“Until humanity can mine asteroids for their valuable metallic resources, Cameron said it was “far better” to mine the deep sea than in rainforests and more ecologically sensitive areas.”

Exploring the greatest depths of the ocean is “safer than getting an elevator and safer than getting on an airplane” James Cameron has said. But the Canadian director of Hollywood blockbusters added that the team behind the recent ill-fated expedition to the Titanic lacked the imagination to engineer against the “most obvious risks” to any deep sea voyage.

In an interview with the Guardian, Cameron said that when he travelled to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench – the deepest known point on the Earth – in a custom-made submersible, “we imagined just about every risk that was humanly possible – and we engineered against all of them.”

Read more

Pacific Seabed Mining Delayed as International Agency Finalizes Rules – by Eric Lipton (New York Times – July 23, 2023)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Efforts to extract the metals used in car batteries have been pushed off amid pressure from environmentalists and nations that oppose them.

The start of industrial-scale seabed mining to extract car battery metals from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean has been delayed after the international agency charged with overseeing the work concluded late last week that it needed more time to finalize mining rules.

The action by the International Seabed Authority, which had set a July goal for finalizing seabed mining rules, came after pressure from environmentalists and nations that oppose the effort.

Read more

Deep-sea mining: A new gold rush or environmental disaster? (Al Jazeera – July 10, 2023)

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Environmentalists warn deep-sea mining could cause major damage to unknown ecosystems, yet mining companies argue it is the key to the energy transition.

In the depths of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, trillions of potato-shaped rocks scattered across the seabed contain minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese that are vital for green technologies in the global energy transition.

In this region – the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) – an abundance of the rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, is fuelling debate about the mining of metals needed to produce technology such as batteries for electric vehicles.

Read more

Canada Joins Nearly 20 Nations Calling for Halt to Deep-Sea Mining as Negotiators Meet to Agree Rules – by Yusuf Khan (Wall Street Journal – July 11, 2023)

https://www.wsj.com/

Proponents say seabed can provide a less destructive source of nickel, manganese and other battery materials needed for energy transition

Canada is the latest country to come out against deep-sea mining, the controversial practice of harvesting battery metals from the seafloor, just as nations gather to start agreeing rules around the practice.

This week, delegates of the International Seabed Authority—a United Nations observer organization that regulates deep-sea mining in international waters—are descending on ISA headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica to hash out the regulations around deep-sea mining over the next two weeks.

Read more

UN debates deep sea mining as countries and companies now allowed to seek provisional licenses – by Danica Coto (Associated Press – July 10, 2023)

https://apnews.com/

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A U.N. agency tasked with regulating the deep sea is debating whether to open the Earth’s watery depths to countries and companies that as of Monday were allowed to start applying for provisional mining licenses.

The International Seabed Authority, based in Jamaica, launched a two-week conference on the issue Monday, a day after it missed a deadline to approve a set of rules and regulations to govern deep sea mining in international waters. “We have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Juan José González, the authority’s council president.

Read more

As the world gathers to discuss the perils of deep-sea mining, a Vancouver-based company is forging ahead – by Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – July 10, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

As an international body meets Monday to discuss deep-sea mining, the debate around the practice is growing louder, with conservation groups calling for a moratorium and a Vancouver-based proponent saying it hopes to be mining in 2024.

Those competing visions will be front and centre in Kingston, Jamaica, where the International Seabed Authority is scheduled to hold meetings that will largely focus on this issue until July 28.

Read more

Deep-sea mining tussle pits France and Germany against China – by Kenza Bryan (Financial Times – July 9, 2023)

https://www.ft.com/

Crunch talks in Jamaica to determine future of drive to extract critical minerals from ocean depths

France and Germany are leading a fightback against plans to allow large-scale commercial mining in the deep seas, warning that a China-supported push to harvest battery metals from the seabed could do lasting harm.

Representatives of 168 member states of the International Seabed Authority will gather on Monday for a marathon, three-week negotiation on whether to lay down the first operating guidelines for the nascent industry.

Read more

The world needs more battery metals. Time to mine the seabed (The Economist – July 6, 2023)

https://www.economist.com/

Getting nickel from the deep causes much less damage than getting it on land

Burning fuel to move humans and goods by road produced about 6bn tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2021, 16% of global energy-related emissions. If countries are to curb the increase in the world’s temperature, they must stop these emissions. That means building battery-powered vehicles which run on electricity rather than internal combustion. And that in turn means mining and processing metals on an unprecedented scale.

Take nickel, which is used in the part of a battery that stores energy. The International Energy Agency reckons 80m tonnes of it must be mined between now and 2040 if the world is to hit its climate targets. That is more nickel than has ever been mined, and approaches the 100m tonnes of global unmined reserves measured by the United States Geological Survey.

Read more

Deep sea mining permits may be coming soon. What are they and what might happen? – by Victoria Milko (Associated Press – July 3, 2023)

https://apnews.com/

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The International Seabed Authority — the United Nations body that regulates the world’s ocean floor — is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the green energy transition.

Years long negotiations are reaching a critical point where the authority will soon need to begin accepting mining permit applications, adding to worries over the potential impacts on sparsely researched marine ecosystems and habitats of the deep sea.

Read more