Panel Discusses Deep Sea Mining at AAAS Meeting in Boston

NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deepwater Wonders of Wake

WOODS HOLE – Home to an immense diversity of marine life, the deep ocean also contains valuable minerals with metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc, and gold, and rare-earth elements used in electronic technology like smart phones and medical imaging machines.

As demand for these resources increases and supplies on land decrease, commercial mining operators are looking to the deep ocean as the next frontier for mining.

What are the risks and environmental impacts of deep-sea mining on fragile marine ecosystems? 

Would seafloor mineral resources be enough to keep up with the evolving demands of modern society?

A panel of scholars including Stace Beaulieu, a deep-sea biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discussed the questions during the symposium, “Should We Mine the Seafloor?” which was held last weekend in Boston. 

The speakers examined the pros and cons of seafloor mining, its engineering feasibility, and its legal and societal implications with the goal of providing the best available, objective, scientific evidence to inform ongoing policy efforts on this important and timely topic.

Currently, there’s no mining occurring in the ocean deeper than the continental shelves, but the industry is moving forward quickly.

Many of the engineering challenges associated with working in the deep sea have already been addressed by the offshore oil and gas industry.

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