Source: Deep Sea Mining campaign
NGOs from Australia, Canada and India call for an international moratorium on deep seabed mining in light of the International Seabed Authority’s (ISA) issuing of 7 exploration licences for deep seabed mining in international waters.
Continue reading Call for an international moratorium on deep seabed mining
Source: Huff Post Green
Author: Sophie Cocke
HONOLULU — Last summer, a team of Japanese scientists boarded the University of Hawaii’s Kaimikai O Kanaloa, a 223-foot, high-tech research ship docked in Honolulu Harbor, and headed out to sea. Their mission was to explore whether they will be able to tap into billions of dollars worth of coveted minerals that are believed to sit 5,000 meters beneath the sea in an area that runs from about 500 miles southeast of Hawaii toward Mexico. Japan is one of more than a dozen countries angling to profit off the vast mineral deposits that span 6 million square kilometers — an area the size of the United States — in what’s known as the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone.
Continue reading Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone: The New Mineral Rush
Source: National Geographic
Author: Michael Lodge
The sea floor is as crucial to human flourishing as the earth’s surface, and as in need of careful stewardship. Just like the terrestrial environment, it is made up of mountain ranges, plateaus, volcanic peaks, canyons and vast plains. It contains most of the same minerals we find on land, often in enriched forms, as well as mineral formations that are unique to the deep ocean such as ferromanganese crusts and manganese nodules.
Continue reading New interest in seafloor mining revives calls for conservation
Source: BBC World Service
Author: David Shukman
The prospect of a deep sea “gold rush” opening a controversial new frontier for mining on the ocean floor has moved a step closer.
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates and Observers,
Thank you for once again providing Seas At Risk with the opportunity to observe and address this meeting. I also deliver this statement on behalf of WWF and the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
Continue reading DSCC Opening Statement – 28th Annual Meeting of NEAFC
