Today we’ll pick up where we left off on Friday about mining the ocean floor for polymetallic nodules, the “batteries in a rock” that contain many of the metals needed to produce batteries for electric vehicles.

We’ll look at the obstacles standing in the way, the objections to deep sea mining, and the cases for the practice.

Rocky Road Ahead

The proposition of mining the ocean floor, which is the only biome left that remains largely untouched by mankind, has already stirred up much controversy.

But if there is a way to extract natural resources from Mother Earth that everyone agrees is safe, ethical, sustainable, and worthwhile, then nobody has presented it as of yet. 

Not in reality, not even in fiction.

The concerns around deep sea mining were immediately apparent. The fact that a vast majority of the areas most rich with polymetallic nodules exist in international waters made the issue even more complicated.

Shortly after the idea of mining the ocean floor was presented, the UN prohibited the practice. In 1994, they formed the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to govern any future endeavors to extract resources from our shared oceans.

To date, the ISA has not granted any mining licenses, however a total of 28 exploration contracts have been granted to date, across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.

These missions have a high bar to meet when it comes to swaying opinions regarding deep sea mining, both within the scientific community, and the public at large.

A study conducted in the 1980’s off of the coast of Peru on nodular collection has left physical damage on the seafloor that is still visible, and loss of marine life that is still measurable. 

Hopeful miners need to prove that technology and mining methods have advanced enough to not risk similar consequences.

The most significant obstacle in the mining process is returning the sediment pulled from the sea floor back under the photic, or “sunlight” zone. As to not block sunlight from the aquatic life below that requires it.

This is an important and difficult process. 

This, as well as other ecological concerns, are exasperated by the fact that we know relatively little about deep sea life. Scientists have mapped more of the surface of Mars than we have of the ocean floor. 

The effects of the mining process are largely hypothetical, as we could potentially be endangering species that we have yet to even discover.

The Best Alternative

The concerns surrounding potential impacts of deep sea mining are both legitimate and significant. 

More research and testing needs to be done to satisfy the objections that have already been made, along with what will certainly be many more as we learn more about the process and the areas that will be dredged.

However, the issue does not exist in a vacuum. The processes we use to mine these metals on land also have steep costs, and mining the oceans is arguably a significant improvement in many ways.

A majority of known cobalt deposits exist within the forests of Congo. Deforestation and intense infrastructure is required for the mining process. 

This is to say nothing of the human rights issues within these mines, such as forced labor and child labor.

In a 2020 study, it was suggested that using deep sea mining as an alternative to terrestrial mining would reduce emissions for nickel by 80%, copper by 76%, cobalt by 29%, and manganese by 22%.

Deep sea mining is a relatively energy efficient process, considering that polymetallic nodules occur above the surface of the ocean floor. Making the process more like retrieval than conventional mining. 

Another argument in favor of the process is that transportation via ship is far more efficient than any method on land.

Additionally, the demand for cobalt is projected to exceed land deposits by over four times by 2050.

The campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions worldwide must also be factored in, when the materials required to produce clean energy solutions simply can not be mined on land. 

At some point, we will be forced to pick our poison.

With that, we would like to hear your thoughts. Do the possible benefits of mining the ocean outweigh its risks? Is the push for cleaner energy worth its costs? Share your thoughts on this, or anything else at feedback@technologyprofits.com.