Environmental balance of mining from seafloor (original) (raw)
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Environmental impacts of deep-sea mining
2021
The urbanization, the rising of the population, the development of technology along with the elevating level of our everyday lives increase the need for mineral resources, which have multiple appliances. Until now, such deposits were found in terrestrial sites, which however, will soon expire. Therefore, the deep sea mining could be the solution to cover humanity’s needs. However, the limited knowledge on deep sea ecosystems and restricted environmental baseline information currently available are prohibiting to move towards the mining of deep-sea resources, as serious harm can be caused to the environment. As the sea has no boundaries, mining activities can have impacts in various places and users of the marine area. To date, only test mining and exploration activities have taken place worldwide, without however moving to the next phase, which is the exploitation of the available deposits. The Authority which regulates the deep-sea area (meaning the marine area beyond national juri...
A review of seabed mining: current developments and environmental impacts
Currently, there are a range of mining operations in the shallow seabed, including diamond mining in Namibia and Tin mining in Indonesia. Due to rising demand for minerals and metals and declining land-based resources, there has been a recent surge of interest in exploration of both shallow and deep sea resources. However, there are environmental concerns with mining the seabed. Only a fraction of the deep sea has been scientifically studied to date and there have been no commercial scale mining trials so far. Nonetheless, given the nature, scale and locations of proposed seabed mining activities serious and, in some cases, widespread negative impacts on habitats and marine life can reasonably be expected. Marine habitats which are being explored for prospective mining include hydrothermal vents (deep sea geysers) which host a unique biodiversity; seamounts (underwater mountains) which support an abundant and rich biodiversity; and manganese nodules which take millions of years to form and support sponges and other marine life. There are conservation concerns regarding the destruction of these habitats by mining, the resulting loss of biodiversity and the uncertainty that habitats and biodiversity may not recover once mining has ceased.
Deep seabed mining: a rising environmental challenge
2018
and Global Sea Mineral Resources NV, Ostend, Belgium) and Phil Weaver (Seascape Consultants Ltd National Oceanography Centre) for the time and advice provided in the course of reviewing this report. There is no question that it benefited greatly from the expertise and perspective they so generously shared. Sandor Mulsow at the ISA provided much-needed maps for this publication, for which we are grateful. We also would like to thank NOAA for making a photographic record of its many deepsea expeditions publicly available and to all the others who allowed us to use their photographs and/or illustrations: Claire Armstrong
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
The rapidly increasing global populations and socio-economic development in the Global South have resulted in rising demand for natural resources. There are many plans for harvesting natural resources from the ocean floor, especially rare metals and minerals. However, if proper care is not taken, there is substantial potential for long-lasting and even irreversible physical and environmental impacts on the deep-sea ecosystems, including on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the literature on some potentials and risks to deep seabed mining (DSM), outlining its legal aspects and environmental impacts. It presents two case studies that describe the environmental risks related to this exploitative process. They include significant disturbance of the seabed, light and noise pollution, the creation of plumes, and negative impacts on the surface, benthic, and meso- and bathypelagic zones. The study suggests some of the issues interested companies should consider in ...
Marine Policy, 2018
, the International Seabed Authority has issued a total of 100 mandatory requirements (published between 2011 and 2015) as guidance for potential future miners when collecting data for their environmental baseline studies during the exploration phase. An in-depth analysis of all current requirements highlights twelve themes covered by multiple requirements: methodology for seabed sampling, methodology for water column sampling, statistical evidence, spatio-temporal considerations, toxicology, modelling needs, genetic studies, species-specificity, documentation and archival storage, impact-related studies, area-based management tools, and comparison and assessment. Within each theme, the relevant requirements are compared with each other to allow a comprehensive assessment of the research effort needed to satisfy all of the 100 requirements.
Integrated environmental assessment and management, 2018
Deep-sea mining refers to the retrieval of marine mineral resources such as manganese nodules, ferromanganese crusts and seafloor massive sulfide deposits, which contain a variety of metals that serve as crucial raw materials for a range of applications, from electronic devices to renewable energy technologies to construction materials. With the intent of decreasing dependence on imports, supporting the economy and potentially even overcoming the environmental problems related to conventional terrestrial mining, a number of public and private institutions have re-discovered their interest in exploring the prospects of deep-sea mining, which had been deemed economically and technically unfeasible in the early 1980 s. To date, many national and international research projects are grappling to understand the economic environmental, social and legal implications of potential commercial deep-sea mining operations: a challenging endeavor due to the complexity of direct impacts and spill-o...
Sustainable Seabed Mining and the Phase 1 Environmental Standards and Guidelines
Australian Yearbook of International Law, 2023
The oceans are home to a rich diversity of plant and animal life and a source of food and marine resources that drive economies. Climate change and pollution are changing ocean dynamics and the ability to support life. Seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction will add to the ocean's stressors and could cause severe environmental damage. The International Seabed Authority (“ISA”) is mandated to manage access to and benefits from the seabed, its subsoil and mineral resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the “Area”). Although the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sets out the legal framework for developing the Area and its resources, it does so in broad terms and leaves substantial gaps. These gaps include the scope of activities in the Area, the interrelationship of international obligations, the division of responsibilities between the ISA and sponsoring states, and the regulation of the mining system in situ. To partially fill these gaps, the ISA has drafted a set of “Phase 1” Standards and Guidelines under the Draft Regulations on Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area. This paper investigates and critiques five environmental Draft Standards from a precautionary and comparative law perspective. Phase 1 standards and guidelines should adopt a more rigorous interpretation of the precautionary principle. Additional recommendations include creating enhanced governance processes and incorporating an ecosystem-based framework for regional environmental assessments and management plans not present in Draft Standards. This research will assist academics, practitioners, governments, and the ISA with policies and strategies to enhance environmental and social protections from seabed mining.
Challenges to the sustainability of deep-seabed mining
Nature Sustainability
he deep-sea floor (below 200 m) is presently, along with Antarctica, the only area on Earth where mineral resources are not currently extracted commercially 1. However, the twenty-first century has seen rising concerns over the depletion of the most readily available and highest-grade ores of selected minerals on land, as well as increasing vulnerabilities to political control over resource access 2-4. Demand for some minerals is also projected to increase, particularly from electrification of the transport sector and renewable energy generation 5-8. A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report indicates that 70-85% of all electricity would need to come from renewable sources by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5 °C 9. These factors, combined with the development of a governance structure for international mineral resources established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its 1994 Implementing Agreement, have led to renewed interest in deep-seabed mining 4,10. Many metals occur together at economically interesting concentrations in the deep ocean. These include copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, silver and gold, as well as lithium and rare-earth elements (Table 1). The metals are found in different ore types in different settings (Fig.