Publication Details
H Niner, A Jaeckel, J Ardron, L Levin, ‘Mining the deep seabed will harm biodiversity. We need to talk about it’ (World Economic Forum Agenda, 8 June 2018))
Introduction
In 2017, Japan became the first country to test mining ocean minerals on a significant scale. While its operation took place at depths of about 1,600 metres, many deep seabed minerals are much deeper – more than four kilometres down. These are pitch-black environments in which pressures are bone-crushingly high, and life operates on a completely different timescale. At these depths, mistakes can be costly for both industry operators and the environment.