Norway announced last month that it will allow deep-sea mining exploration on its continental shelf. As the race for critical minerals ramps up, Norwegian officials said, the rest of the world can no longer afford to fall behind Russia and China.
“Today, we are almost dependent on Russia and China and we have to diversify the global supply-chain production of minerals around the world,” Norwegian energy minister Terje Aasland told CNBC. Maria Varteressian, Norway’s state secretary at the ministry of foreign affairs, said that the country would not proceed with seabed mining until they “know more” about the process and specifically what deep-sea mining could do to surrounding ecosystems (various environmental regulatory bodies will decide when Norway “knows enough”). Norway will not give exploratory licenses to companies until at least next year, and it might not be until 2030 that companies start drilling.
The European Parliament voted this month in favor of a resolution to raise concerns about Norway’s decision. The resolution has no legal power. It does, however, reaffirm the pact made by many European countries to reject seabed mining and issue moratoriums on deep-sea mining.
“Norway and the European Union have a shared interest in and commitment to comprehensive, knowledge-based, and sustainable ocean management, which balances both conservation and sustainable use of ocean resources,” Varteressian said. “Our European partners may rest assured that these principles will form the basis of all activities in Norwegian waters.”
Some countries have started to more aggressively explore deep-sea mining techniques in efforts to gain energy independence. Potato-shaped rocks that contain valuable metals (manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt) used for renewables and electric-vehicle batteries lie at the bottom of the sea, and analysts predict that demand for minerals found in deep-sea nodules could almost double by 2040. But scientists don’t exactly know what deep-sea mining could do to marine habitats or the ocean itself, causing some activists to label the practice “ecocide.” International jurisdiction over the sea is also, of course, murky territory, which might in part explain why Norway is granting exploration permits within its national jurisdiction.
The United Nations’ International Seabed Authority (ISA), which essentially governs international waters, has granted exploration contracts to many nations including Russia, South Korea, China, Japan, France, India, Germany, and more (the U.S. has zero permits). China holds the most permits and will lead the rule-making discussion over seabed regulation.
Washington has only observer status in the ISA and would have to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to have a say in the ISA’s rule-making process. But Republicans have successfully staved off UNCLOS for years, saying that such a wide-ranging international agency could strip away America’s freedom of the seas and is not actually necessary in order to access deep-sea assets. The U.S. can insert itself into the deep-sea mining game in other ways, Gerard Barron, the CEO of The Metals Company, a Canadian deep-sea exploration outfit, wrote recently:
While there are renewed bipartisan efforts underway to finally ratify UNCLOS in the Senate, this is by no means a pre-requisite for realizing the mid-to-downstream potential of this remarkable resource. Nodule collection, impact monitoring and data acquisition technologies applied in the deep-sea environment have largely evolved from early deep-water experience in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Together with leading regional knowledge base in subsea robotics, the ability to repurpose offshore oil and gas assets, and with scope for bulk transhipment, there are myriad opportunities for American entities to participate in this potential industry. Already, American companies and leading universities are actively working across marine robotics, underwater vehicles, environmental impact assessment, and even as consulting parties in the development of financial regulations within the international mining code itself. Processing of nodules at pilot scales has been proven out in North American facilities in Pennsylvania and Ontario.. Though Chinese efforts are gaining ground, Western nations have the lead on technology.
Congress will discuss UNCLOS ratification in greater detail this year, and the Pentagon will deliver a report “assessing deep-sea mining” by March. Some Republicans seem to think that in order to compete with China, America should abandon fears that UNCLOS could force the U.S. into “relying on a U.N. bureaucracy to maintain the freedom of the seas essential to our trade, commerce, and military alliances,” NR editors wrote in 2007. Partnering with allies who have deep-sea mining permits, shoring up domestic production capabilities, and mining and securing the U.S. continental shelf seem to be a safer bet.