Activists at a “Look Down Action” rally to stop deep-sea mining, outside the European Parliament in Brussels on March 6, 2023.
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It is likely only a matter of time before scraping the ocean floor for precious metals becomes a reality, according to the head of the International Seabed Authority, the UN regulator that oversees deep-sea mining.
Michael Lodge, general secretary of the ISA, told CNBC that global interest in deepwater mining has risen to levels not seen since the 1970s, with proponents clearly excited by the industry’s potential role in energy transition.
“One of the main drivers of industrial interest is the ability to produce larger quantities of minerals at an equivalent or lower cost than what can be produced on land,” Lodge told CNBC via conference call.
“That’s the commercial driver and there’s certainly huge resource potential in seabed minerals. The question is whether they can ultimately be produced economically,” he added.
“But the resource potential is absolutely there. That’s clear. The technology is advanced, so it looks like it’s possible. And at the same time, it’s also very clear that the demand for minerals is growing exponentially and it’s going to continue to grow.”
His comments come as the ISA prepares resume conversations for deepwater mining in Kingston, Jamaica next month. The upcoming seabed watchdog meeting will seek to shape a regulatory framework that, if passed, will give the go-ahead to commercial-scale deep-sea mining.
Established 30 years ago, the ISA regulates mining and related activities in an area covering about 54% of the world’s oceans. The team consists of 168 member states and the European Union. The US is not a member of the ISA.
It hasn’t yet, so it’s very hard to say for sure that it would be as devastating as some people claim it would be.
Michael Lodge
Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority
The controversial practice of deep-sea mining involves using heavy machinery to remove minerals and metals – such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese – that can be found in potato-sized nodules on the ocean floor. The end use of these minerals is wide-ranging and includes electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.
Scientists have warned that the full environmental impact of deep-sea mining is difficult to predict. Meanwhile, environmental campaign groups say the practice cannot be done sustainably and will inevitably lead to ecosystem destruction and species extinction.
Marine ecosystems
Specifically, recently the Norwegian parliament voted to approve a government proposal to open up a vast area of ocean to deep-sea mining on a commercial scale. The decision signaled the Scandinavian country’s intention to begin deepwater mining activities in its national waters near the Svalbard archipelago.
To be sure, the Norwegian government does not intend to start drilling for minerals immediately. Instead, mining companies would have to submit proposals for licenses that would be voted on by parliament on a case-by-case basis.
When asked if it was now likely to be a matter of time before countries started deep-water mining, the ISA’s Lodge replied: “Clearly now, we are reaching a very high level of interest, so I would say yes, it seems inevitable.”
“Whether that’s in international waters, or national waters, whether that’s Norway or some other country, that’s impossible to say,” he added. “It depends partly on the terms and conditions I guess.”
Environmental activists calling for an international moratorium on deep-sea mining.
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The ISA Council, a body which consists of 36 member stateshas previously stated that it intends to continue its work on the deepwater mining regulations with a view to finalizing the measures by July 2025.
To date, 24 countries worldwide have called for a moratorium or hiatus in the industry, while multinational companies such as Google, Samsung and Volvo have pledged not to source minerals from the seabed.
Marine ecosystems are is not well understood. Campaigners fear that deep-sea exploration and exploitation activities could permanently alter a home that is unique to the known – and many more unknowns – kind.
“It hasn’t been done yet, so it’s very difficult to say for sure that it would be as devastating as some claim it would be,” the ISA Lodge said.
“It’s a very deliberate and slow process. The exploration has been going on for over 30 years now, so a lot of information and data has been gathered. The technology is still developing, the latest technology test results have been extremely encouraging in terms of actually being very low impact compared to other forms of mining’.
“desperate situation”
The world’s rapidly growing appetite for energy transition minerals shows no signs of slowing down.
However, the International Energy Agency has warned that current supply falls short of what is needed to transform the energy sector. This is because there is a relatively high geographical concentration of the production of many energy transition components.
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland told CNBC last month that the government’s decision to move into deepwater mining marked a necessary step into the unknown that could help break China and Russia’s dominance of rare earths.
“We’re in a pretty desperate situation,” Lodge said, citing the IOC’s expectation that demand for critical minerals is set to increase rapidly in the coming years.
“We are nowhere close to meeting those targets right now with current onshore reserves. Even with the rapidly increased production taking place in countries like Indonesia, we are still nowhere close,” he added. “And the permitting times, for example, in North America, for a new mine are on the order of over a decade, so it’s very difficult.”