The U.S. Congress has allocated a budget of $2 million to the Pentagon to evaluate the possibility of extracting and refining minerals from the seabed, according to information revealed by the Wall Street Journal. This deepwater mining study, to be conducted in collaboration with an entity specializing in the refining of critical minerals and production of battery metals, is part of a broader strategy to secure essential mineral resources.
The plan to study deepwater mining
The initiative will formally begin once the annual defense budget is approved later this year. In addition, Congress has asked the Pentagon to develop a detailed roadmap on the potential acquisition and processing of these critical minerals in the United States.
In March, Republican Representatives Carol Miller of West Virginia and John Joyce of Pennsylvania introduced a bill encouraging the development and funding of deepwater mining. In addition, last year, 30 Republican members of Congress called on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to support this emerging sector, highlighting its strategic importance.
Gerard Barron, CEO and president of The Metals Company, a leading deepwater mining research firm, hailed the move as a significant step forward in securing a stable supply of critical minerals from responsible sources. The company has also applied for a $9 million grant under the Title III program of the Defense Production Act to assess the feasibility of a domestic refinery to process products derived from ocean nodules.
Despite the economic potential, estimated in the trillions of dollars for reserves of metals such as nickel, manganese and cobalt, there is concern among the scientific community about the adverse effects of deep sea mining on marine ecosystems, which are already being affected by pollution, trawling and the climate change .
What are the ecological risks of deepwater mining?
Deepwater mining poses several significant ecological risks of concern to scientists and conservationists and organizations. One of the main dangers is the physical disturbance of the seabed, which can destroy unique, biodiversity-rich habitats that take thousands of years to form. Such disturbance affects the species that inhabit these environments and can have knock-on effects on marine food webs.
In addition, the extraction process can generate clouds of sediment that spread over wide areas, diminishing water quality and affecting filter-feeding organisms that depend on it for food. There is also a risk of chemical contamination, as heavy metals and other pollutants can be released during mineral extraction and processing, which has the potential to accumulate in the marine food chain.
Lastly, the noise and light associated with mining operations mining operations can alter the natural behavior of marine species, many of which depend on stable environmental conditions for orientation, feeding and reproduction. These impacts, coupled with the difficulty of comprehensive assessment and management of long-term effects in these poorly known and difficult to access ecosystems, pose serious challenges to the sustainability of deepwater mining.
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Source: northernminer.com
Photo: shutterstock
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