A coalition of non-profit organizations is pushing for an international moratorium on deep-sea mining following a fresh report that warns of potential irreversible damage to Pacific island states including Kiribati, the Cook Islands, Nauru, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu.
“Accumulated scientific evidence indicates that the impacts of nodule mining in the Pacific Ocean would be extensive, severe and last for generations, causing essentially irreversible damage,” the report, commissioned by the Deep Sea Mining Campaign and MiningWatch Canada, found.
Academics and scientists fear that deep-sea mining could devastate fragile ecosystems that are slow to recover in the highly pressurized darkness of the deep sea.
Polymetallic nodules — potato-sized metals-rich rocks that
lie in a shallow layer of mud on the seafloor — are believed to be rich in cobalt,
nickel, copper, manganese and rare earth metals. According to the US Geological
Survey, as the deep-sea accounts for more than half the world’s surface, its
riches are several times higher than those found in all land reserves combined.
DeepGreen Metals, a Canadian start-up planning to extract cobalt and other battery metals from the seafloor, believes that deep-sea mining has the potential to eliminate or dramatically reduce most of the environmental and social impacts associated with traditional mining.
Unlike other seafloor miners, the company doesn’t want to
drill, blast or dig the bottom of the ocean. Its main goal is to scoop up the small
metallic rocks located thousands of metres under water.
Opposed views
Mining companies exploring the seafloor argue the extraction of those deep-buried riches could help diversify the current sources of battery metals.
Academics and scientists, however, are concerned by the lack
of research on the possible impacts of high seas mining.
“Expectations that nodule mining would generate social and
economic gains for Pacific island economies are based on conjecture,” the 52-page
report released this week by a coalition of 80 NGOs said. “The impacts of
mining on communities and people’s health are uncertain and require rigorous
independent studies.”
“Predicting the Impacts of Mining Deep Sea Polymetallic
Nodules in the Pacific Ocean”, based on 250 peer-reviewed scientific and other
related articles, warns of severe and long-lasting impact on fish species. It
also claims the activity could pose significant risks to marine
ecosystems due to the interconnected nature of the ocean.
Two years ago, the European Parliament called for a ban on
seabed mining until the environmental impacts and risks of disturbing unique
deep-sea ecosystems are understood. In the resolution, it also urged the European Commission to
persuade member states to stop sponsoring and subsidizing licenses to explore
and exploit the seabed in international waters as well as within their own
territories.
Shortly after, an international team of researchers published a set of criteria to help the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a UN body made up of 168 countries, protect biodiversity from deep-sea mining activities.
So far, it has granted 30 explorations licenses — 25 in the Pacific Ocean and 18 of those in the Clarion Clipperton Zone which stretches from Kiribati to Mexico.