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Battle lines drawn over deep-sea mining, with ‘dark oxygen’ in the balance

The clamour for seabed mining is growing, but many environmentalists and scientists are urging caution.

dfdeep - A polymetallic nodule in the laboratory releasing air. The nodules, formed naturally on the seabed, are brimming with manganese, iron and aluminum as well as highly sought after nickel, copper and cobalt. A recent study found that the nodules produce an electric charge that can split water molecules and produce oxygen -- the first time a non-living thing has been shown to produce oxygen.

Credit: Northwestern University, Evanston, United States

Scooping up these potato-sized metallic lumps off the sea floor risks disrupting one of the most important, but also still poorly understood, parts of the planet.

PHOTO: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

David Fogarty

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Scattered across the bottom of the world’s oceans and seas is a resource so abundant it could power the planet’s transition to a greener future.

But there’s a catch – a big one.

Battle lines drawn over deep-sea mining, with ‘dark oxygen’ in the balance

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