Video: The Deadly Danger of Mining the Ocean Floor

Our colleague Richard Charter and his crew at the Ocean Foundation have created a short documentary on the dangers of mining the ocean floor and the threat that mining poses to our oceans. The footage of deep-sea life is stunningly beautiful. But, the prospect of deep-sea mining is alarming.

The Ocean Foundation states: Deep seabed mining is a potential commercial industry attempting to mine mineral deposits from the seafloor, in the hopes of extracting commercially valuable minerals such as manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel. However, this mining is posed to destroy a thriving and interconnected ecosystem that hosts a staggering array of biodiversity: the deep ocean. Questions also remain if the global economy needs these minerals at all: increasing innovation in battery technology and investment in the circular economy are suggesting alternatives to new mineral extraction.

But, the mining industry is widely circulating propaganda that, in order to transition to a green economy, we will need to mine the ocean floor for strategic minerals.

The Ocean Foundation also recently released a new report which provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of the extent to which the deep-sea mining industry is economically viable. Its report reveals its unrealistic financial models, technological challenges and poor market prospects that gravely undermine its potential for profit.

In fact, the economic feasibility of deep-sea mining has not been proven.

More importantly, any deep-sea mining operation will necessarily stir up and spread massive amounts of silt and toxic materials for tremendous distances. Noise generated will disrupt communication of deep-sea ocean life. Scientists warn that harm from deep-sea mining could extend to the rest of Earth’s biosphere.

We know more about the moon than we do about the ocean depths – large parts of the ocean have not even been mapped, much less studied. The mining industry is short-sighted in its push to employ its new technology, especially since it is unknown how long it might take – or even if it’s possible -- for a devastated deep-sea ecosystem to regenerate.

And at least we now know that the ocean depths are not barren deserts, but full of miraculous life, even in the deepest parts of the ocean.

Please watch Defend the Deep: