The controversial practice of deep-sea mining could begin in the Pacific as soon as this month after the International Seabed Authority (ISA) gave the go-ahead to The Metals Company to commence mining the sea floor.
Hidden Gem. Credit: Allseas
Allseas' deep-sea minerals collection vessel, Hidden Gem. Credit: Allseas
The ISA granted permission for Metals Company subsidiary, Nauru Oceans Resources Incorporated (NORI) to start exploratory mining in an area between Mexico and Hawai'i known as the Clarion Clipper Zone. The initial mining test phase is scheduled to conclude by the end of the year.
The company hopes it will pave the way for "NORI’s application to the ISA for an exploitation contract" said The Metals Company in a statement.
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The trial will see NORI's offshore partner Allseas test a system consisting of a nodule collector on the seabed and a riser system that will bring the nodules to the vessel at the surface, Hidden Gem. The company is anticipating collecting around 3600 tonnes of polymetallic nodules during the trial.
The Metals Company says that both the Allseas systems will be monitored by independent scientists from a dozen research institutes from around the world, who will analyse the environmental impacts.
The Metals Company CEO and Chairman Gerard Barron welcomed the ISA decision and said that his team had worked tirelessly to achieve the result.
"With this green light from the ISA, the team of world-class engineers from Allseas and scientists from some of the world’s leading deep-sea research institutions that we’ve brought together can begin technology trials and our impact monitoring campaign. We have a couple of exciting and no doubt challenging months ahead of us. The environmental and operational data and insights from these trials will be an important step in ensuring the safe and efficient collection of polymetallic nodules to supply critical battery materials for the clean energy transition,” said Barron.
The decision has been slammed by environmental campaigners, with Greenpeace Aotearoa describing it as the start of a new and highly destructive extractive industry that will prioritise profit over people and biodiversity, and threaten the ocean's health and people's way of life.
"Deep sea mining is now right upon our doorstep and is a threat to each and every one of us. The ocean is home to over 90% of life on earth and is one of our greatest allies in the fight against climate change. Greenpeace will not stand by quietly as deep-sea mining companies begin to plunder the seafloor and decimate biodiversity for profit," said Greenpeace Aotearoa seabed mining campaigner James Hita.
Read more: Leading tech & auto firms sign up to WWF's deep-sea mining moratorium
He described the ISA decision as a "shock to civil society" which was excluded from the decision-making process, arguing that it highlighted a lack of transparency.
"The ISA was set up by the United Nations with the purpose of regulating the international seabed, with a mandate to protect it. Instead, they are now enabling mining of the critically important international seafloor. The Legal and Technical Commission, that approved this mining pilot, meets entirely behind closed doors, allowing no room for civil society to hold them to account. This mechanism is simply unacceptable," Hita added.
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