1. What is Deep Sea Mining?

What is deep sea mining? And what should the world do about it? Welcome to a brand new miniseries exploring the facts and evidence around deep sea mining, and covering the growing case for a moratorium on the practice.  

The ocean’s seabed harbours a range of mineral reserves containing valuable metals and compounds. But under international law these resources have been designated “the common heritage of mankind”, a designation backed up by the body responsible for both preserving and allowing their use, the International Seabed Authority. Today, for the first time, this body is being seriously tested: some companies are saying they are ready to mine the deep sea, and are demanding to do so. 

In this first of three episodes we discuss the ecological and environmental impacts of deep sea mining, explain its legal status, cover recent developments at the International Seabed Authority, and start to separate rhetoric from reality. 

With thanks to Diva Amon, scientific advisor at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California Santa Barbara; and Pradeep Singh, fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability at Helmholtz Center Potsdam. 

Investing For Ocean Impact is a Fresh Air Production on behalf of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy. It is presented and produced by Phil Sansom. 

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not represent the views and opinions of IUCN or Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy.

FURTHER READING:

Climate change to drive increasing overlap between Pacific tuna fisheries and emerging deep-sea mining industry, (Amon et al., 2023) 

90% of species in proposed deep-sea mining area, the Clarion Clipperton Zone, are undiscovered and unnamed, (Rabone et al., 2023) 

Undermining by Mining? Deep Seabed Mining in Light of International Marine Environmental Law |(Singh and Jaeckel, 2024) 

Is the ISA Ready to Regulate? Working Paper (Bosco et al., 2023) 

A “Deadline” Expires: Quo Vadis, International Seabed Authority? (rifs-potsdam.de) (Singh, 2023)  

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