Deep sea mining- an emerging threat to the marine environment .......

In recent years, Industries and governments recognize the huge challenges in mining the deep ocean with a growing interest in the mineral deposits of the deep sea. This is largely due to depleting terrestrial deposits for metals such as copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, lithium and cobalt, coupled with rising demand for these metals to produce high-tech applications such as smartphones and green technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric storage batteries. 

Before any deep-sea mining moves ahead, there are some questions to be raised about its potential environmental impact. 

Deep-sea mining is the process of recovering mineral deposits from the deep sea – the area of the ocean below 200 m which covers about 65% of the Earth’s surface. 

The deep ocean, where mining is proposed, constitutes the largest and least-understood biological habitat on Earth. Many species living in the deep sea are native as they do not occur anywhere else on the planet and physical disturbances in just one mining site can possibly wipe out an entire species. This is one of the biggest potential impacts of deep-sea mining. The target of this type of deep-sea mining is polymetallic nodules, potato-shaped rocks rich in copper and manganese. These nodules provide a stable anchoring point for the development of anemones, soft corals, and sponges. These nodules take millions of years to form and removal or burial of nodules from mining activities will remove the home for many of these species.

Species such as whales, tuna and sharks could be affected by noise, vibrations and light pollution caused by mining equipment and surface vessels, as well as potential leaks and spills of fuel and toxic products. 

Environmental risks and impacts of deep-sea mining would be enormous and unavoidable, including seabed habitat degradation over vast ocean areas, species extinctions, reduced habitat, slow and uncertain recovery, suspended sediment plumes, toxic plumes from surface ore, undersea noise, ore and oil spills in transport, and many more.

What needs to be done?

Substantially, studies are needed to understand what species live in the deep sea, how they live, and how they could be affected by mining activities. In-depth training and educational programs should be done to thoroughly assess the potential impacts of deep-sea mining and to put in place adequate safeguards to protect the marine environment. 

This is a very big deal, and we need to pay close attention and would need much more extensive scientific research - species identification, community ecology, distribution, genetics, life histories, resettlement patterns, resilience to disturbance, and at least a 10-year continuous time series of observations to understand dynamics of proposed mining sites over-time.

To effectively protect the marine environment from potentially harmful effects associated with deep-sea mining, the Mining Code will need to take into account a variety of factors. This will require regulations and procedures for the protection and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity; the prevention, reduction, and control of pollution and other hazards to the marine environment.

Article by Dr.Yashoda Tammineni,

MSc, Ph.D.

HSE,HOD at NIFS