Deep sea bed mining is the extraction of metals such as iron, manganese, copper, zinc, lead nickel, cadmium, silver, platinum gold and rare earths from the sea floor.
Thousands of meters beneath the azure ocean waters in places like the South Pacific, down through a water column saturated with life and to the ocean floor carpeted in undiscovered ecosystems, machines the size of small buildings are poised to begin a campaign of wholesale destruction. I wish this assessment was hyperbole, but it is the reality we find ourselves in today.
New research reveals experimental seabed mining could have a devastating impact on life forms that are "literally saving the planet” and preventing a “doomsday climatic event”.
The research lists experimental seabed mining as a major threat to ocean life that resides around hydrothermal vents and has been found to consume enormous quantities of methane that would otherwise enter the atmosphere.
The youths of Karkar Island have expressed their frustrations over experimental seabed mining after awareness was organised by Act Now! and conducted by Tropical Gems.
The young people said they also share the Bismarck sea and they don’t want to be used as a science lab by Canadian mining company Nautilus Minerals whose experimental seabed mine will be the first of its kind in the world.
The people of Biliau and Galil from the Raikos area of Madang province are standing together and saying No to Experimental Seabed Mining as this would affect their livelihoods and environment. They depend entirely on the sea for their daily subsistence.
The villagers and locals were attending an awareness on experimental sea bed mining organised by Act Now! and Tropical Gem to learn about the proosed Solwara 1 seabed mine.
A cost-benefit analysis released by the Secretariat of Pacific Communities (SPC) and the European Union on potential deep sea mining (DSM) projects in three Pacific countries found that the projects can be viable.
But other research suggests there remain serious concerns about the new, untested DSM industry.
PNG is playing a dangerous game with people’s livelihoods, environment and culture by embarking on experimental seabed mining without understanding the potential impacts on the regions fish and fisheries, according to a South Pacific Community research proposal.
IMAGE: RELICANTHUS SP. -- A NEW SPECIES FROM A NEW ORDER OF CNIDARIA COLLECTED AT 4,100 METERS IN THE CLARION-CLIPPERTON FRACTURE ZONE (CCZ) THAT LIVES ON SPONGE STALKS. CREDIT: CRAIG SMITH AND DIVA AMON, ABYSSLINE PROJECT
Managing mining of the deep seabed
Contracts are being granted, but protections are lagging
Mining in the deep sea for minerals is uncharted territory, but one company is well on its way to making it a reality. Now, the company is trying to convince skeptical audiences it's a good idea.