Deep sea mining is a proposed expansion of the mining industry into the fragile deep ocean environment. Mining corporations want to extract metals found in areas of the sea below 200 meters.

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They have focused on three types of mining.

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1: The extraction of manganese nodules (also called polymetallic nodules) from abyssal plains

2: The extraction of cobalt-rich crusts from seamounts

3: The extraction of polymetallic sulphides from hydrothermal vents

 

All three varieties would be devastating to the organisms who inhabit those areas, and far beyond.

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What are the risks of seabed mining?

• Habitat destruction

• Species extinction

• Noise and light pollution

• Sediment plumes that smother fish

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There are currently no commercial mining operations in international waters, but there is growing pressure to begin exploitation, both in national and international waters.

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The majority of the world’s oceans are located in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The seabed in these areas is under the jurisdiction of the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

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The most imminent threat is to the Clarion Clipperton Zone, an area of the Pacific Ocean located between Mexico and Hawaii, targeted for manganese nodules containing small quantities of nickel, copper, and cobalt. The ISA has granted exploration leaseholds in this area to 16 deep-sea mining contractors, covering approximately 1 million square kilometers (400,000 square miles).

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Among the silty substrate of the seabed in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, manganese nodules provide an essential hard surface for creatures like starfish, anemones, crustacean larvae, 4,000 year old corals, 11,000 year old sponges, and countless microbial species. As well as providing key habitat, they play a role in the carbon and nutrient cycles of the deep sea.

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