Norway Sets Course To Commercially Scale Seabed Mining
Norway is positioned to make history as the first country to embark on commercial seabed mining.
Big Idea:
Norway is on track to be the world's first to launch commercial seabed mining, with its minority government and two opposition parties approving Arctic seabed exploration.
Why It matters:
Support for seabed mining represents a strategic shift in resource procurement, addressing Europe's supply of critical minerals for green technologies and reshaping the mining industry's environmental and legislative landscape.
Key Details:
- Norway proposes to open about 280,000 km2 for seabed exploration, an area larger than the UK.
- Seabeds hold vital mineral deposits for green tech including batteries, wind turbines, copper, cobalt, and rare earth metals such as neodymium and dysprosium.
- Commercially-scaled seabed mining in the Arctic could pioneer extraction techniques specific for deep sea minerals.
"We need to have a fact- based evaluation of deep sea minerals as a provider of critical minerals for the green energy transition," said Walter Sognnes, CEO of seabed mining startup Loke Marine Minerals.
What's Next:
Parliament’s final decision on full-scale mining awaits, potentially setting a global precedent for seabed mining initiatives and environmental policies.
Yes, but:
Environmental concerns loom large, with debates on marine ecosystem impacts and long-term sustainability.
The Intrigue:
This initiative intersects critical global issues: the need for sustainable sources of minerals for green technologies, the challenge of environmental protection and long-term sustainability, and geopolitical tensions over Arctic resources.
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