According to CNBC, Michael Lodge, secretary general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the United Nations regulator responsible for overseeing deep-sea mining, recently said that mining valuable metals on the seabed is imperative and may only be a matter of time. Due to the industry's potential role in the energy transition, the global popularity of deep-sea mining has climbed to its highest level since the 70s of the 20th century. One of the main drivers is that offshore mining can produce more minerals at the same or lower cost than minerals produced on land. Not only is it a commercial driver, but seabed minerals have huge resource potential.
Lodge's comments come as the ISA prepares to restart deep-sea mining talks in Kingston, Jamaica, next month. The upcoming meeting of the seabed regulator will seek to develop a regulatory framework that, if adopted, would allow for commercial-scale deep-sea mining. Founded 30 years ago, ISA manages mining and related activities covering about 54% of the world's oceans. The organization consists of 168 member states and the European Union, and the United States is not a member of the ISA.
Controversial deep-sea mining practices include the use of heavy machinery to mine cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese. These minerals have a wide range of end-uses, including electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. Scientists warn that the full environmental impact of deep-sea mining is difficult. At the same time, environmental activist groups say the practice is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to ecosystem destruction and species extinction.
Notably, the Norwegian parliament recently voted to approve a proposal to open up large areas of the ocean for commercial-scale deep-sea mining. The decision marks the Nordic nation's intention to begin deep-sea mining activities in national waters near Svalbard. Of course, Norway** does not intend to start licensing minerals immediately, and mining companies will need to submit a licence proposal and vote on a case-by-case basis in Parliament.
The ISA Council has previously expressed its intention to continue work on deep-sea mining regulations with a view to finalizing the measures by July 2025. So far, 24 countries around the world have called for a moratorium or moratorium on the industry, and multinational companies such as Google, Samsung and Volvo have pledged not to extract any minerals from the seabed.
Because marine ecosystems are not well understood, environmentalists fear that deep-sea exploration and exploitation activities could permanently alter the homes of a known species and many unknown species. To this, Lodge responded: "It's hard to say that deep-sea mining will be as destructive as some people say. Exploration has been going on for more than 30 years, so a lot of information and data has been gathered. The technology is still under development, and the results of recent technical tests are very encouraging, and its environmental impact is actually very small compared to other forms of mining. ”
The world's rapidly growing demand for energy transition minerals shows no signs of slowing down. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that current volumes are not at the level needed to transform the energy sector. This is due to the fact that the production of many elements of the energy transition is relatively concentrated geographically. Norway's energy minister, Terje Aasland, has said that Norway's decision to push forward with deep-sea mining marks a necessary step into uncharted territory, which could help break the dominance of rare earths in a few countries.
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