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Environmental benefits and risks from deep sea mining

2024-01-14 21:32:41, Kuriozitete CNA

Thousands of meters deep in the Pacific Ocean there are large deposits of minerals necessary for the transition to renewable energy.

Mining companies are ready to collect this underwater treasure, spread over an area larger than half of the United States. But not much is known about the deep-ocean ecosystem and the impact that mining operations can have.

These black stones make up some of the world's most important minerals, including cobalt, manganese and nickel.

The company "Metals" based in Canada took them out of the seabed, at a depth of about five thousand meters.

The company has access to about 1.6 billion tons of them, says chief executive Gerard Barron.

"That's enough to build 280 million medium electric vehicle batteries. So enough to transform all American cars," he says.

As the world moves away from fossil fuels, demands for metals are increasing. Meeting global climate goals will require nearly 20 times more nickel and cobalt by 2040 than is used now.

"At the center should be the safe supply of these metals, but also the minimization of the consequences for the planet and the ecosystem", says Mr. Barron.

It is estimated that there are more metals like these on the seabed than in all the reserves on earth.

Mr. Barron says they are extracted without exploiting people, as is the case in the cobalt mines of the world's leading producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo; or the clearing of tropical forests in Indonesia, which is seen as the main supplier of nickel.

But there will be environmental consequences. The deep sea is one of the most extreme environments in the world, but there is life there too.

"Extremely cold, dark, very high pressure, definitely up to 5,000 meters. Very low food values... but amazingly, life exists," says Adrian Glover of the Natural History Museum in London.

He leads a group that studies life in great depth. He says that many species are difficult to identify.

"You land on the seabed and at first glance, it doesn't look like there's much life there. You see the built-up masses, the mud. Just through the microscope, you see that there's a lot of biodiversity," says Mr. Glover.

His team has identified more than 5,000 species that have never been seen before. Their adaptation to the ocean ecosystem remains a great unknown.

The impact that noise, light and mud plumes from mining operations would have on ocean life remains a mystery.

The International Seabed Authority is working to regulate this new industry. Mr. Glober and others are advising him on areas to protect.

"It's similar to fishing, where you try to figure out which areas need to be protected and where you can fish," he says.

Meanwhile, environmental groups are calling for a moratorium, along with more than 20 national governments and more than 30 major companies.

But the "Metals" company plans to apply for the start of operations at the end of next year, bringing back into the spotlight the controversy over deep sea mining./ VOA