Plans to open the world’s first mine in the deep ocean have moved significantly closer to becoming reality.
A Canadian mining company has finalised an agreement with Papua New Guinea to start digging up an area of seabed.
The controversial project aims to extract ores of copper, gold and other valuable metals from a depth of 1,500m.
However, environmental campaigners say mining the ocean floor will prove devastating, causing lasting damage to marine life.
The company, Nautilus Minerals, has been eyeing the seabed minerals off Papua New Guinea (PNG) since the 1990s but then became locked in a lengthy dispute with the PNG government over the terms of the operation.
Under the agreement just reached, PNG will take a 15% stake in the mine by contributing $120m towards the costs of the operation.
Mike Johnston, chief executive of Nautilus Minerals, told BBC News: “It’s a taken a long time but everybody is very happy.”
“There’s always been a lot of support for this project and it’s very appealing that it will generate a significant amount of revenue in a region that wouldn’t ordinarily expect that to happen.”
The mine will target an area of hydrothermal vents where superheated, highly acidic water emerges from the seabed, where it encounters far colder and more alkaline seawater, forcing it to deposit high concentrations of minerals.
The result is that the seabed is formed of ores that are far richer in gold and copper than ores found on land.
Mr Johnston said that a temperature probe left in place for 18 months was found to have “high grade copper all over it”.
For decades, the idea of mining these deposits – and mineral-rich nodules on the seabed – was dismissed as unfeasible because of the engineering challenge and high cost.
But the boom in offshore oil and gas operations in recent years has seen the development of a host of advanced deep sea technologies at a time when intense demand for valuable metals has pushed up global prices.
The mine, known as Solwara-1, will be excavated by a fleet of robotic machines steered from a ship at the surface.
The Latest on: Deep sea mining
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Deep sea mining” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Deep sea mining
- Indigenous deep sea mining vessel set for mid-2024 trialson February 7, 2023 at 2:25 am
The USA, Russia, Japan, France and China are the other countries that have such underwater vehicles for carrying out subsea activities at the moment.
- Scientists Alarmed by Video of Deep Sea Mining Company Spewing Waste Into Oceanon February 6, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Canadian deep sea mining firm The Metals Company has been accused by its own scientists of meddling with their data and dumping sediment into the ocean.
- Canada under pressure to ban deep-sea mining as global ocean summit starts in Vancouveron February 6, 2023 at 9:44 am
Canada is under increasing pressure to declare a moratorium on seabed mining just as federal leaders are set to host an international marine conservation summit.
- Leaked video footage of ocean pollution shines light on deep-sea miningon February 6, 2023 at 4:58 am
Company rebuts claims by scientists that ‘uncontrolled and unscientific’ practices highlight dangers of going ahead with seabed mining Video footage from a deep-sea mining test, showing sediment ...
- Vancouver protesters call for deep-sea mining ban at ocean conservation conferenceon February 4, 2023 at 10:30 pm
Protesters in Vancouver called for a ban on deep sea mining at IMPAC5, where delegates are working on how to act on promises to protect the marine world made at recent global environment meetings.
- Canada faces pressure to ban deep-sea miningon February 3, 2023 at 5:52 am
Scientists and NGOs are asking Ottawa to ban the activity, as the country hosts an international marine conservation summit that kicks off on Friday in Vancouver.
- FR - France to Ban Deep-Sea Mining: What It Implies, and Why It’s Importanton January 24, 2023 at 9:40 pm
A moratorium on deep-sea mining in French waters has been approved in Parliament, but why is this particular type of mining so controversial, and should it be banned?
- The Double-Edged Sword of Deep-Sea Miningon January 24, 2023 at 9:11 pm
They’ve called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining activities until the research can catch up to the technology. The World Wildlife Fund has led efforts to get some of the largest companies and ...
- Deep-sea mining could power a clean energy future — but there’s a coston January 24, 2023 at 2:35 pm
A fierce debate is now playing out as a Canadian company makes plans to launch the first commercial deep-sea mining operation in the Pacific Ocean. A newly discovered species called Relicanthus ...
- The Double-Edged Sword of Deep Sea Miningon January 24, 2023 at 3:00 am
In November, the International Seabed Authority—the UN agency broadly tasked with regulating mineral resources in international waters—held its 27th session to flesh out its developing plan to ...
via Bing News