Norway’s Move to Explore $92B of Deep Sea Minerals | WSJ

Between Norway and Greenland lie some of the most valuable minerals on the planet. From cobalt to rare earths, raw materials are needed to drive multi-billion dollar industries such as EVs. These mineral reserves from the deep sea are of huge geopolitical significance as China and a few other key countries are monopolizing the supply of these materials.

WSJ explains how Norways is taking a leading role in the controversial race to mine the deep sea and why the U.S. is intently watching developments.

Chapters:
0:00 Valuable minerals
0:50 Exploration tech
1:54 Exploring for minerals
2:45 Extraction tech
3:27 Continental shelf
4:38 Other countries
5:45 Legislation and backlash

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#Mining #Norway #WSJ

[chrlzortz]

This is one of these ideas that we will regret as humanity in the future

[jamsbong]

Those black pebbles 5:05 are the life essentials for the local ecosystem. They react with the ocean water to produce oxygen.
The mining companies are going to simply vacuum the ocean floor clean of this rocks to make EVs!
This is like a massive deforestation underwater. Human have already exploit/used about half of earth land surface that can be cultivated for food. Natural forest and wild habitat land are disappearing because we are using those land to grow food.

We have the engineering might to just wipe every other living things on earth quite rapidly. Leaders need to have the wisdom to stop this madness before it is too late.

[Nonentity]

“irreparable damage”, meaning damage so massive it can not be repaired. Leave those minerals and their surrounding ecosystems alone. Find a way to recycle the minerals we already have.

[SomeSortOfMan]

A shame there’s not a race to study the unexplored ecosystems at the bottom of the ocean. Not much money in that though I suppose.

[sunalwaysshinesonTVs]

Yeah, so... recent scientific study concluded those very rare earth minerals (and whatever else they're attached to) plays a significant role in oxygenating the ocean, ergo mine those and we could see a massive die off. Of course deep see mining companies are disputing that cause money. Wonder which side wins?

[SP-ctrj]

Mining is anyway not green. Whether we get it from land or sea there'll be an environmental impact.

[greendsnow]

If a country like say Vietnam, Turkey or Indonesia did this... EU would heavily criticize and introduce embargoes to mineral AND related industries

[Sjalabais]

Norwegian here, from Bergen, as shown in the video. We've been lucky with resources, but there's little public discussion of the environmental downsides here. I don't quite understand that because it is *obvious* that mining would destroy these ecosystems. The permits mentioned by the state secretary are also for research *and exploration* - so this is a dangerous game they're playing.

Apart from that, manganese crust and nodules have been the next big thing in resources for over five decades. It's like fusion energy - hugely promising, hugely difficult to do, with a potentially life destroying downside on the other end.

[SMEARGLEX]

For a second, I was anticipating Platinum after that one time in History, Spain dumped all their Platinum in the Ocean thinking it was worthless.

[concernednewfie]

The race to strip mine the ocean floor into lifeless empty scars is my first guess. With slow 10000 year recoveries vice how a forested area might slowly recover. Sure, a few small cuts would not be that bad, but we both know what happens when 'industrial scale' is applied.

[lithiumvalleyrocksprospect]

Dark oxygen discovery might affect deep sea mining

[wenbo]

Sounds like complete massive double standards here.

[kelvinblueberry]

Recent research about Dark Oxygen shows that we still do not know enough about the sea floor to comprehend the potential damages seabed mining operations may have. My vote is to protect these areas until more is learned about how oxygen, energy, and mass are transferred through the food chain and how the metal nodules and crusts affect these systems.

[somaghosh]

I got to know many things, so thank you WSJ.

[TheJensss]

A lot of negative people basing their assumptions on what? When noone has done anything similar and we don't know the consequences.

Why should Norway destroy the ocean when their main export after oil and gass is fish?

[erikvinnes]

Norwegian here. I truely believe that we should pass over these minerals. Let them be.. The risk seems to me just too high.. (with regard to causing irreperable environmental damage).

[posthocprior]

Norway is very high minded and progressive on issues -- except when it comes to the potential profit that the country could make. Then, it's become a smiley-happy version of the frackers in Texas or the monarchists of Saudi Arabia.

[wenbo]

At the cost of polluting the ocean floor 😂😂😂

[bodizathva]

Funny how they related the submarine mining to "clean energy"...

What worries me, is that the conditions in the planet are becoming more and more adverse, not only for other species, but also for us.

Some, few may see a big business and maybe consider the care for the ecosystem irrelevant. But, what if the mining introduces heavy metals in the food chain, and people gets poisoned. Or if the impact by any meaning affects the food availability, the deposition of CO2, or whatever...

These doesn't make sense to me.

Please, excuse my por English

[NewArgon]

As in the comments here, I agree that nothing should be mined there. Countries with poor people should do that. We in the West should pay more attention to our environment. China and other countries can pollute the environment and we can simply buy from them to power our smartphones, solar panels and energy storage systems. They have then ruined their environment forever 100 times worse, because they don't do it as properly with mining as developed countries (which have more regulations and experience and can afford it) can. In exchange, we can send them 10 euros per person every month so that we feel good about it. Mining has to be done by poor countries and people so that our own environment looks 100% beautiful.
Or we all do without technology, I always wanted to live in the stone age, they certainly didn't have depression.








Caution: irony!!!!