Wallacea is a fascinating region of both land and sea. Spanning approximately 338,000 square kilometers within Indonesia, it is home to a rich diversity of animals and plants, with…Continue readingWallacea: A living laboratory of Earth’s evolution. Its wildlife, forests and reefs will be devastated if we don’t act
Tag: mining
A little-known organization is meeting this week in a conference center in Jamaica. The rules the International Seabed Authority (ISA) are drafting could have immense impact. That’s because this…Continue readingMining the seabed for clean-tech minerals could destroy ecosystems. Will it get the green light?
Norway’s government is readying plans to open an area of ocean nearly the size of Germany to deep-sea mining as it seeks to become the first country to extract…Continue readingNorway seeks to open vast ocean area to deep-sea mining
It is the first time the previously unknown biodiversity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a mineral-rich area of the ocean floor that spans 1.7m sq miles between Hawaii and…Continue readingMore than 5,000 new species discovered in Pacific deep-sea mining hotspot
The deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean have rested undisturbed for millennia. But now creatures living thousands of metres beneath the surface may be confronted by new visitors: companies…Continue reading‘Playing with fire’: the countdown to mining the deep seas for critical minerals
The race for high-tech metals has sparked a cobalt boom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has come at a steep human cost. In an e360 interview,…Continue readingFor Your Phone and EV, a Cobalt Supply Chain to a Hell on Earth
The proposed US goal to double electricity transmission lines and build a separate electric vehicle charging network while also expanding solar and wind production to move to 100% renewable…Continue readingThe squeeze on powering the open road
Businesses want to trawl for nickel, manganese and cobalt to build electric cars and windfarms.Continue readingDeep-sea mining for rare metals will destroy ecosystems, say scientists
In 1900, approximately 80% of the elements humans used came from biomass (wood, plants, food, etc.). That figure had fallen to 32% by 2005, and is expected to stand…Continue readingHumans plunder the periodic table while turning blind eye to the risks of doing so, say researchers
At the bottom of a crater in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20,000 people work at a cobalt mine, in shifts of 5,000 at a time.Continue readingDR Congo’s faltering fight against illegal cobalt mines
Out of 26 countries, Indonesia accounted for 58.2% of the tropical deforestation directly caused by industrial mining activities. The data covered 26 countries representing 76.7% of the total tropical…Continue readingIndustrial mining in Indonesia accounts for 45% of global tropical deforestation
One argument against deep seabed mining is the existence of previously unknown species in the deep sea, including the recently discovered pom-pom-like Biremis spaghetti worm and the delightfully weird…Continue readingTwo-year countdown for deep seabed mining
Stuart Crow, chair of Lake Resources, said western companies and governments had failed to build adequate supply chains for lithium, making the sudden boom in electric vehicle manufacturing unsustainable.…Continue readingElectric vehicle targets ‘impossible’ without changes to lithium pipeline
Transocean Ltd. announced today that it has purchased a minority interest in Ocean Minerals Ltd., a company engaged in the exploration of seabed resources containing metals critical to the growing renewable…Continue readingTransocean Ltd. Invests in Exploration of Seabed Minerals to Support the Renewable Energy Supply Chain
While driving an electric car has fewer environmental impacts than gasoline-powered cars, the production of the parts necessary for these green technologies can have dire effects on human well-being.…Continue readingCobalt’s human cost: Social consequences of green energy must be assessed in addition to environmental impacts
Almost two-thirds of the hundreds of mollusc species that live in the deep sea are at risk of extinction, according to a new study that rings another alarm bell…Continue readingDeep-sea mining may push hundreds of species to extinction
Trillions of polymetallic nodules litter Earth’s ocean floors. Each is rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper; some of the most important metals for manufacturing low carbon technology. Mining…Continue readingIs deep-sea mining a cure for the climate crisis or a curse?