Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Sunday July 26 2015, @05:13PM   Printer-friendly
from the deep-dive dept.

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and their frigid depths have long been known to contain vast, untapped deposits of prized minerals. These treasures of the abyss, however, have always been out of reach to miners.

But now, the era of deep seabed mining appears to be dawning fueled by technological advances in robotics and dwindling land-based deposits. Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold and the rare-earth elements vital in manufacturing smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor thousands of meters (yards) beneath the waves.

[...] A group of international scientists, in a [paywalled for some] July 9 article in the journal Science, urged [UN agency] ISA to temporarily halt authorization of new mining contracts until networks of "marine protected areas" are established around areas targeted for mining.

"We owe it to future generations to ensure that we think before we act and gain a thorough understanding of the potential impacts of mining in the deep sea before any mining is permitted," said Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which sent observers to ISA's 21st session in Kingston.

But despite the warnings, in recent days ISA authorized its latest exploration contract, a 72,745 square kilometer (28,087 sq. mile) permit in the Pacific to China Minmetals Corp., sponsored by Beijing. China now has the most permits from the U.N. body with four.

[...] "The terrestrial industrial revolution happened before we had the tools to manage goals for development and goals for sustaining biodiversity. You can't really blame people in the 1700s for the damage they did to the environment..." he said. "But we certainly are to blame if we don't do seabed mining properly."


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday July 26 2015, @08:51PM

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Sunday July 26 2015, @08:51PM (#213971)

    So, in 20-30 years I get to say

    "When man first exploited the depths of the sea, we awakened something"

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Sunday July 26 2015, @11:48PM

    by looorg (578) on Sunday July 26 2015, @11:48PM (#214018)

    As long as we don't dig around R'lyeh it should probably be good.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloop [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%27lyeh [wikipedia.org]