Congress to Fund Deep-Sea Mining Project

TRANSCRIPT:

Christina Thompson (Anchor, EarthxNews): Congress is looking to jumpstart the deep-sea mining industry in the US. The House Armed Services Committee has directed the Pentagon to commit $2 million to a feasibility study seeking to explore ocean floor mineral refining now.

The process will begin once the annual defense budget is signed into law later this year. And it’s likely that any funds committed to the industry won’t be seen until next year. The move comes as the nation eyes ways to secure non-Chinese sources of the critical metals that are needed for the energy transition such as EV batteries, consumer electronics, and defense technology.

Scientists say that deep sea mining involves the harvesting of small rocks or nodules that are lying on the seabed and processing them for minerals and metals including cobalt and nickel. The investment is being praised by the deep-sea mining industry, who say collecting minerals from the seabed avoids damage to land-based sources of minerals.

Now conversely, critics argue that a deep dive for the minerals will cause irrevocable damage to an environment largely untouched by humans.