Andrew Thaler for the Deep-sea Mining Observer One of the more curious chapters in the history of deep-sea mining occurred last month, when the Washington State legislature passed a law effectively banning seabed mining for hard minerals within state waters. Senate Bill 5145, which passed near-unanimously in the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives […]
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Andrew Thaler for the Deep-sea Mining Observer The spring and summer of 2021 will likely stand as the pivotal moment in the history of deep-sea mining. Months of intense protest amidst significant at-sea progress on environmental impact studies and prototype testing were capped off earlier this week by the explosive announcement that the Republic of […]
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Rebecca Helm, Nichola Clark, and Diva Amon for the Deep-sea Mining Observer The High Seas cover nearly half of Earth’s surface, and hold over 90% of livable habitat on the planet. Yet the High Seas fall under no single nation’s jurisdiction (similar to the ‘Area Beyond National Jurisdiction’ (ABNJ)), and as a result, governance of […]
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Maria Bolevich for the Deep-sea Mining Observer Earlier this year, a team of scientists from Ocean University of China reviewed the development of key deep-sea mining technologies in A brief review of recent progress on deep sea mining vehicle. The study presented a series of new potential technologies to reduce the environmental footprint of deep-sea […]
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Johhny Blades for Radio New Zealand Nauru’s government is being urged to halt its reported push to allow deep sea mining in international waters by 2024. Read the full article here: Nauru urged to reverse deep sea mining push
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Todd Woody for Bloomberg Green DeepGreen built a nearly $3 billion valuation on the dream of gently excavating the ocean floor. Now environmentalists want to block its plans to go public. Read the full article here: A Mining Startup’s Rush for Underwater Metals Comes With Deep Risks
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D. Raghunandan for NewsClick Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a Deep Ocean Mission proposed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a cost of Rs 4,077 crore over a period of five years, with funding of Rs 2823.4 crore for the first three years (2021-24). An allocation of Rs.4,000 crore had earlier been […]
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Elham Shabahat for Hakai Magazine The clock is ticking on the International Seabed Authority to finish its new exploitation regulations for deep-sea mining. Read the full article at Hakai Magazine: A Mining Code for the Deep Sea
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Vancouver, Canada – June 10, 2021- The Metals Company (formerly DeepGreen Metals), a Canadian explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, today welcomed the findings of the White House’s comprehensive 100-day review addressing supply chain challenges and outlined how its plans can make a material contribution to re-shoring American supply chains for the critical minerals needed […]
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Opinion by Andrew Thaler, DSMO Editor-in-Chief Deep-sea mining occupies a unique niche in the annals of extractive exploration. Its modern manifestation owes as much to the surging demand of critical minerals as it does to the work of environmental organizations shining a light on the vast environmental and ethical catastrophes of terrestrial mining. In its […]
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