Shockingly, the ocean floor is more than just sand. It’s home to complex ecosystems and geologically varied terrain. And in certain spots, you’ll find some of the most valuable minerals and metals on earth.
Companies have been busy developing technologies to extract manganese, cobalt, copper, nickel, and rare earths from the sea floor.
One form of deep-sea mining is harvesting polymetallic nodules, which are formed deep within the sea. The process has been likened to dropping industrial vacuum cleaners onto the ocean bed to suck up the nodules.
Typically, the slurry is fed to a ship above, while excess sediment is deposited back into the ocean.
De Beers Group has been mining diamonds off the west coast of Africa in a similar manner since 2018.
Another form of deep-sea mining is mining massive sulphide deposits which crop up around hydrothermal vents.
Deep-sea mining is a divisive area both within the industry and the public. Some believe the critical minerals contained on the seabed could hold the key to the green energy transition, while others, like Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest, say the consequences are not yet understood.
Detractors worry that silt and waste left behind by operations could harm marine life. Vibrations caused by machinery is another major concern. Vibrations from a submarine sonar, for instance, are strong enough to kill a whale.
Another factor is that thermal vents – where many of these minerals are located – are hotspots for ocean life.
While projects develop in different jurisdictions, the wheels have been turning on mining in international waters, which holds enormous stores of the world’s essential resources.
The United Nations gave the mammoth task of regulating the practice to an affiliated body called the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA had two years to agree on how to regulate deep-sea mining. But that deadline passed in silence in July this year.
With the deadline now passed, and no regulations in place, the ISA is now legally obligated to consider commercial mining applications.
A group of leaders from Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and representatives from the French territory of New Caledonia, came together this week to issue a temporary ban on deep-sea mining in each jurisdiction.
The moratorium cited environmental instability and a lack of research into the effects of deep-sea mining.
The moratorium will see the Solwara 1 deep-sea sulphide mining project in PNG put on hold, with PNG Prime Minister James Marape saying that PNG will play a “big brother” role in the region to ensure environmental sustainability.
“Papua New Guinea, as a responsible big brother in the region, we had to subscribe to majority views in the Pacific and we place a moratorium on deep-sea mining in the country,” Marape said.