Radio Free Asia By Stephen Wright for BenarNews 7/20/2023
Some nations are pushing for more research into environmental consequences and a moratorium.Pacific island countries are at the forefront of the global fight over whether mining companies should harvest metals from the seabed.
But unlike the region’s unified calls for action to limit climate change, the island nations’ governments are divided. Some are concerned about environmental damage and others see exploitation of the resources as the route to prosperity.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a United Nations body that administers vast mining-license areas in international waters, will meet this month in Jamaica as the tussle over mining the deep intensifies – a possibly critical moment for the seabed mining industry and the nations that oppose it.
Proponents of deep-sea mining say it will help provide the metals needed for batteries that power electric vehicles and other green technologies as countries try to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
The so-called polymetallic nodules that are in abundance in parts of the ocean contain cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese. They form over millions of years and average 5-10 centimeters in diameter, the size of a small potato.
Environmental groups and some scientists say the industry could cause long-term or irreparable damage to seafloor life, on which there is far less research than land environments.
“We have witnessed the horrific impact of terrestrial mining. Now we’re talking about mining in the deep without knowing anything about it,” said Pelenatita Petelo Kara, a Tongan activist who campaigns against deep-sea mining.
“This industry is extractive like any other. There is no way the footprint is going to be minimal.”
Economic opportunities
The Metals Company, listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, is working with the Pacific island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga to exploit their license areas in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. The 4.5 million square kilometer (1.7 square million mile) area in the central Pacific is regulated by the ISA and contains trillions of polymetallic nodules at depths of up to 5.5 kilometers.
The Cook Islands, meanwhile, is allowing exploration by other companies in its own waters and doesn’t need ISA approval to mine in them.
More:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/environment/pacific-deep-sea-mining-07202023003741.html
