The Ocean's Silent Cry: Is Deep-Sea Mining Worth the Risk? The Debate We Can't Ignore

Photo: Steve Jurvetson

Guest post by the Global Indian Network Team

The global race for resources has been immersed in the ocean, with deep-sea mining mining finding itself in the middle of a worldwide debate. While those advocating for mining the ocean bed say that it is the only way to meet the world's growing demands, the critics warn that there may be no coming back if we destroy the ocean bed. As regulatory decisions around the activity begin to get closer, we must ask ourselves- Is deep-sea mining worth the risk?

To answer that question, let us first understand what deep-sea mining is. The activity involves extracting valuable minerals and metals, such as copper, nickel, aluminium, manganese, zinc, lithium and cobalt, from the ocean floor, usually done at a depth of 200 metres or lower. With ground-level resources of the above-listed metals reaching levels of complete depletion, countries now seek to go below the ocean to extract them. With these minerals serving as key components of electric vehicle batteries, advocates argue that exploring and mining the ocean bed could allow for new job opportunities, cut down on emissions, as well as fill the demand for these rare resources.

However, while deep-sea mining may have a few immediate benefits, it has been suggested that mining deep below the ocean's surface could create significant disruptions in aquatic plant and animal life. With many nations and companies scrambling to apply for exploration permits to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN declared that it would take until 2025 to decide whether countries can pursue deep-sea mining in international waters. 

This decision will ultimately decide the status of deep-sea mining, but what is the current situation? Well, many countries have sent out exploratory probes, but there has been no commercial mining yet. Despite the ISA having time until 2025 to set regulations for international waters, countries are free to perform the activity in their own domestically controlled waters, also known as "exclusive economic zones.". Countries like Norway have already announced plans to back deep-sea mining and plans to begin by the 2030s, while other countries such as Canada have called for stricter regional regulations until more research has been done on the activity. 

Currently, it is speculated that mining resources from the ocean bed will lead to significantly lower environmental pollution and degradation. No freshwater bodies will be impacted, and there will be no deforestation. Additionally, as an activity that potentially occurs in international waters, working conditions may be subject to high regulations and, as a result, may incur less exploitation of human labour. However, not all long-term implications are known. 

The deep ocean was once thought to be completely devoid of life; however, recent discoveries have shown that the deep sea is full of magnificent creatures, completely new to science. The impact that deep-sea mining can have on this aquatic life is unknown. Many suggest that it can cause great harm to untouched ecosystems and create toxic waste that could be deadly for deep-sea creatures. Light pollution, sound pollution, and our mere existence in these deep areas of the ocean could have a significant impact on the lives of the animals that live there, and this could create significant unknown impacts on various aspects of life. 

Additionally, economic policies that only benefit larger and richer nations could further accentuate the gap between developed and developing nations, especially if parts of the ocean that have invaluable minerals are only found in smaller countries. Due to the lack of funding and resources, these countries may not be able to access their own reserves of valuable minerals, making this activity highly exploitable. The ocean also plays a significant role in the regulation of climate change and absorbs roughly 25% of the carbon released by human activities while also generating about 50% of oxygen. Disturbances to the deep ocean can cause significant disruptions to these figures in ways unbeknownst to us, making this activity a cause for concern until more research is done.

Pradeep Singh, a Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz-Center Potsdam, is a regulatory and policy expert on deep-sea mining. He warns of the potential impacts this seemingly green activity may have and warns us not to make mistakes that we have made before. Governmental policy must be designed in such a way that it ensures that deep-sea mining is performed only in a manner that does not have far-reaching consequences, unlike what was done with climate change policies a few decades ago. 

In conclusion, the decision over deep-sea mining must not be taken with only economic or short-term goals in mind. As we have seen before in the case of climate change, damaging the Earth while chasing monetary gains often has consequences that cannot be comprehended until they have unravelled in ways that can not be controlled. Policies must be thought out and well-researched. But if they are not, it is not too long that the cries of the ocean can be ignored. Before we know it, the tears of destruction will come, and any action to undo the damage will be too late. Once again.