Donald Trump signed an executive order toexpedite deep sea mining
What do we really know about deep-sea mining and how to exploit it? The U.S. and International Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act
The federal agencies were instructed to speed up the process for issuing permits for mining on the seafloor in both U.S. and international territory. It will use a U.S. law from 1980, the “Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.”
There is no deep-sea mining currently being done in the world. But companies have long eyed the ocean floor as a potential source of metals like nickel, cobalt, manganese and copper, which are used in batteries for electric vehicles and other technologies.
These metals can be found in potato-sized nodules lying on the ocean floor. Many of the nodules are in the middle of the Pacific ocean, beyond the legal territory of individual countries.
Those regions have traditionally been overseen by an international organization, the International Seabed Authority (ISA). For some time the ISA has hosted talks to come up with a regulation to govern a potential seabed mining industry. The U.S. has respected the process of the ISA in the past, but did not approve the treaty that governs the seabed.
Companies seeking to exploit offshore mineral resources argue that it would cause less harm than mining on land. There is not much research on the effects deep sea mining has on the marine environment. Recent studies have warned of “irreversible” damage and loud noise affecting sea life, and one controversial study raises questions of whether the deep sea could be an important source of “dark oxygen” for the world.
“This is being planned on some of the least resilient ecosystems on the planet,” says Douglas McCauley, professor of ocean science at the University of California Santa Barbara. “It would have catastrophic biological consequences.”
There are also important questions about whether we actually need to be mining the seabed to get enough of these minerals for technologies like batteries, says Micah Ziegler, assistant professor of energy and chemical systems at Georgia Institute of Technology.
“We found a bunch of alternative chemistries and they used less or no cobalt, but people believed we were going to be limited,” he says. “The technologies are changing so rapidly and alternatives are being explored.”
A senior science journalist on the dangerous nature of deep-sea mining: The case for a moratorium on deep sea mining in the United States
Duncan Currie is a legal adviser for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition which has advocated for a moratorium on deep sea mining and believes that fast-track deep-sea mining would set a dangerous precedent and be a violation of international law.
The metals company said it was going to apply for US permits to begin mining high seas minerals and that it had met with officials in the White House.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told the BBC that Trump’s move harms the overall interests of the international community.
is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disasterhits Home, as well as a radio show.
US President Donald Trump has asked federal agencies to speed up the process for issuing permits for mining in the seafloor in both the US and international territory. It will use the “Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act,” a US law from 1980. There is no deep-sea mining currently being done in the world, however, companies have long eyed ocean floor as a potential source of metals.