PRIMER
DEEP-SEA MINING
Why the next gold rush is happening at the bottom of the ocean
Down past the jellyfish, through the water column and beyond the light is the deep sea: the place between 200 to 11,000m (650 to 36,000ft) below the ocean’s surface. The extremely high pressures and cold, dark conditions make unique habitats for the surprisingly colourful life here – bizarre creatures like hairy-chested crabs and glittery Elvis worms.
But some people have their eyes on a different sort of riches formed in these unusual conditions: rare earth metals. Dr Helen Scales explains the drive to mine the materials buried in the deepest parts of the ocean.
THE WORD ‘MINING’ USUALLY BRINGS UP IMAGES OF GRUBBY FACES IN HARD HATS DISAPPEARING UNDERGROUND. SO WHAT IS MINING WHEN IT’S IN THE DEEP SEA?
It’s just as grubby as mining on land – the difference is there aren’t people actually in deep-sea mines. It’s all going to be done remotely, using similar sorts of camera and robot technologies to those scientists are using to explore the deep sea. Only they’ll be much bigger, with mining machinery bolted to them.