Polymetallic nodules on the the ocean floor.

Polymetallic nodules coat fields of the ocean floor and are rich in critical minerals needed to make batteries for electric vehicles.

Courtesy of: NOAA Ocean Exploration

Deep Seabed Mining

Call to action:

Enact a global moratorium on all deep seabed mining activities to protect one of the world’s largest and most important ecosystems.

Deep Seabed Mining (DSM) is the process of extracting minerals, including nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese, from sea beds two hundred meters or more below the ocean's surface. These rare minerals, found as nodules, are key components of lithium-ion batteries, electronic products, and renewable energy infrastructure. The rising demand for these products makes DSM financially appealing to industry, especially as the harmful impacts of extracting the minerals on land have earned public criticism, including concern over human rights abuses. However, many scientists and NGOs are concerned about the damage that DSM will have on ocean ecosystems. It is imperative to stop this industry from developing until the potential ecological impacts of DSM can be better studied and the seabed protected. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) will publish regulations soon. Ultimately, alternatives to these minerals will need to be developed. Until then, many concerned citizens are asking the ISA to enact a moratorium on DSM.

Action Items

Individuals

Learn about the potential harms of deep seabed mining and why a moratorium is needed. The seabed is one of the last undisturbed ecosystems on the planet. The deep sea is full of life, much of it undiscovered. Scientists say that without baseline information about the deep sea, the impacts of DSM cannot be adequately measured. To harvest the mineral nodules, companies will likely drop large tractor-like devices into the water, vacuum up nodules, and pump them up to a ship on the surface. The excavation of the ocean floor by machines can alter or destroy deep-sea habitats both on the floor and in the water, causing a loss of species, many of which are found nowhere else. The ecological and environmental costs of deep-sea mining may be greater than removing the same minerals retrieved on land.

DSM stirs up large amounts of sediment on the seafloor, creating plumes of suspended particles while also generating noise, making it harder for animals to communicate with each other, detect prey, and find mates.
Discharged waste from the mining process can introduce heavy metals into the marine food chain and could remain in the water column for one hundred to a thousand years and enter the human food chain through migratory fish stocks.
The sediment in discharged wastewater can take a long time to resettle on the seafloor, affecting commercially important or vulnerable species.
DSM operations are expected to generate high greenhouse gas emissions through fuel consumption and transportation of minerals.
Mining the seabed may have impacts on carbon cycling and storage. Mining will disturb marine sediment containing carbon stocks and bacteria that are responsible for carbon sequestration.
Operations might have serious impacts on human communities that are dependent on marine ecosystems.
Studies suggest that DSM poses significant risks to midwater ecosystems, which are important fisheries, and can cause significant damage to coastal ecosystems. In Papua New Guinea, the ancient tradition of “shark calling” is under threat from deep-sea disturbances.
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) is a part of the deep sea between Hawaii and Mexico that is ripe for mining. Yet it is an area unmatched in terms of species diversity, including gummy squirrels, squidworms, and ping-pong tree sponges, compared to other parts of the deep sea.

Spread the word and make your voice heard. Deep seabed mining has been thrust into the spotlight due to a 2023 deadline that requires the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a UN body, to finalize regulations for DSM. This could result in commercial DSM starting despite recent studies highlighting its potential risks. The ISA has issued thirty-one contracts to governments and private corporations for exploration. The 28th Session of the ISA took place in March 2023, and despite two weeks of negotiations, no agreement was reached.

Be vocal on social media. You can share these messages on X or repost these assets.
Hold producers accountable. Consider tweeting at an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer using the Race to the Top app to make commitments not to source minerals from the deep seabed.
Write to the ISA. Write to the Secretary-General or call the Office of the Permanent Observer. Here is a script you can refer to.
Sign petitions. Sign the Say No to Deep Seabed Mining petitions led by this coalition and by Greenpeace. You can also sign this petition that will be sent to your appropriate national ministers, the ISA, and the UN. You can join 704 marine science and policy experts from forty-four countries to call for a moratorium on deep seabed mining by signing their statement here.
Join or support an NGO involved with stopping deep seabed mining. The Ocean Foundation is dedicated to reversing the destruction of our oceans and is actively involved with deep-sea mining issues as is the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition. For more, see Key Players below.

Groups

Scientists

Collaborate on closing the key scientific gaps related to deep seabed mining. Many scientists have spoken up with specific concerns about the impacts of DSM, which include the loss of important species, the impacts of large sediment plumes, noise pollution, and the interruption of important ecological processes connecting midwater and benthic ecosystems. Yet there remain several understudied areas that have profound implications on basic knowledge as well as the development of environmental regulations:

More resources need to be dedicated to understanding the species richness and complexity in areas targeted for deep seabed mining in order to create catalogs similar to those used for equivalent terrestrial environmental impact assessments.
Additional basic biological data needs to be collected about deep-sea animals, including growth rates, life histories, and tolerance to stressors, to predict the degree of disturbance that may be experienced.
The specific impacts of particle plumes and dissolved chemicals will undoubtedly have impacts, but it is unclear at what radius from the mine site this will occur. Sensitivity thresholds for deep-water ecosystems need to be better understood.

Non-Profit Organizations

Advocate for the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In addition to supporting a moratorium on deep seabed mining, NGOs can play a key role in advocating for the creation of MPAs. By working closely with local communities, these organizations can identify important or endangered marine ecosystems in their region, run campaigns to raise awareness about their need for protection, and propose effective regulations for the long-term management of MPAs (see Marine Protected Areas Nexus).

Center Indigenous voices. Indigenous leaders and activists have made clear that their cultures have origin stories in deep seas and have lived in relationship with the ocean for millennia. Deep seabed mining is a direct attack on Indigenous management of the oceans, and existing groups must center these voices in their campaigning.

Groups including Greenpeace, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, Pew Charitable Trusts, and WWF gave up their seats to a large coalition of Indigenous Pacific activists at the 28th ISA meeting. In a petition presented to the ISA, over a thousand signatories from fifty-six Indigenous groups from thirty-four countries called for a ban on the potential industry.

Companies

Commit to minerals in your supply chain that are not mined from the seabed. Several businesses have come together to call upon governments worldwide to place a moratorium on deep seabed mining in recognition of the innumerable and important benefits that the oceans provide. Businesses can sign up for the pledge and follow in the footsteps of several other companies:

Electric automakers, including BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Renault, and Rivian, have committed to ensuring their EV batteries are not using parts mined from the seabed and have committed not to finance deep-sea mining activities.
Smartphone producers such as Google and Samsung have signed the pledge as well.
Patagonia is a sustainable outdoor company that has signed the pledge.
Triodos Bank has committed to excluding deep-sea mining from its financing.

Invest in metal recycling and recovery infrastructure. Investing in recycling for rare-earth elements and nonrenewable resources will be necessary to ensure a regenerative clean-energy shift. Work on making better and smarter use of the metals we have already extracted is underway and can play a significant role in reducing the need for virgin-mined metals.

Implement reuse schemes. According to research, recycling end-of-life batteries could reduce global EV mineral demand by between 25 and 55 percent for newly mined copper, cobalt, and nickel by 2040. Reuse schemes could give batteries a second life in new applications, especially in grid storage. The European Union has recently introduced new EV battery regulations in line with circular economy principles, which would reduce the demand for rare-metal mining in the first place.
Support alternative materials. Cobalt is an essential raw material only for a particular class of car battery, and researchers have been suggesting alternatives that use no rare earth minerals. Companies can set targets for phasing out cobalt while urging that existing batteries be recycled.

Governance

Commit to a national moratorium on deep seabed mining. Twenty-seven nations have taken positions against DSM in international waters, from total bans to precautionary pauses. It is essential for all governments to participate in the negotiations at the ISA and add to the voices in favor of a moratorium:

Eighty-one governments and government agencies that attended the IUCN World Conservation Congress voted in favor of the moratorium.
Two hundred fifty-two parliamentarians from fifty-one countries have signed the Global Parliamentary Declaration Calling for a Moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining.
Chile recently sent a letter to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s annual meeting of State Parties to call for a fifteen-year moratorium on deep-sea mining.
The Pacific Parliamentarians’ Alliance on Deep Sea Mining (PPADSM) called for the suspension of sea mining activities in jurisdictions within the Pacific region.
Canada not only refuses to permit seabed mining in areas under national authority but also supports a moratorium in areas beyond its jurisdiction as well.

Pass a right-to-repair law. The demand for deep seabed mining is partly driven by the demand for smartphones or other electronic devices. This demand is inflated because manufacturers make it difficult to repair devices. The growing “right-to-repair” movement asks lawmakers to demand manufacturers release the tools, parts, and repair manuals necessary to allow consumers to have their products fixed by independent shops or at home.

New York is the first state in the world to pass an electronics right-to-repair law that requires all manufacturers selling digital electronic products to make parts, tools, information, and software available to consumers and independent repair shops.
Australia has already passed the right to repair motor vehicles and is currently investigating electronics repair.
India has set up a committee to develop a Right to Repair framework that would apply to mobile phones and electronic displays.

Bad Actors

The Metals Company (TMC) is a Canadian mining firm and one of the leading industry players. They conducted tests in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone from September to November 2022. There is video evidence of their flawed environmental monitoring strategy, which allowed the dumping of sediment into the ocean, which may harm marine life. Gerard Barron is the CEO and chairman. He can be contacted through LinkedIn and X.

Michael Lodge, the secretary general of the ISA, has been criticized for his views on deep sea mining, which include mocking concerns about the potential environmental harm. The German government sent a letter of concern about his lack of neutrality in facilitation. He can be connected through LinkedIn here.

Key Players

Organizations

Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (Global) works with scientists, NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and governments around the world to drive action to protect the deep sea.

Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative (Global) is a global network of experts that integrates science, technology, policy, law, and economics to advise on ecosystem-based management of resource use in the deep ocean and on strategies to maintain the integrity of deep-ocean ecosystems within and beyond national jurisdiction.

The Oxygen Project (U.S.) is a non-profit on a mission to ignite a global community of nature champions and drive collective action through campaigns, education, and storytelling.

The Ocean Foundation (U.S.) improves global ocean health, climate resilience, and the blue economy.

Sustainable Ocean Alliance (U.S.) calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining to undertake more scientific research in deep-sea biodiversity and that decisions around DSM are transparent and accountable.

OCN.ai (U.S.) enables scientists, governments, and businesses to understand the ocean more completely and to make better and more informed decisions in order to protect it.

Seas at Risk (Belgium) is an association of environmental organisations from across Europe, working together to ensure that life in our seas and oceans is abundant, diverse, climate resilient, and not threatened by human activities, including deep-sea mining.

WWF (Global) calls for a global moratorium on all deep seabed mining activities.

Greenpeace (Global) is working to prevent a new destructive extractive industry from ever getting started in the oceans.

Mining Watch Canada (Canada) collaborates with Indigenous and other groups to protect peoples and the planet from the impacts of mining, including ocean mining.