James Borton

Opinion | Why US national security and its green energy transition depend on mining seabed for rare minerals

The US can strengthen national security and increase economic output by onshoring the processing and refining of valuable minerals on the sea floor close to home

It should not rely on China for its supply of rare minerals for both sensitive military hardware and technologies required to fuel a sustainable future

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Workers walk past lithium-filled bags at Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe’s processing plant in Goromonzi, about 80km (50 miles) from the capital Harare, on July 5. China’s dominance of the global rare earth supply chain and other metals essential to the clean energy transition has led some to see deep-sea mining as an urgent matter of national security. Photo: AP

James Borton

Published: 1:00am, 1 Aug 2023Updated: 3:32am, 1 Aug 2023

Despite the shift away from the social and environmental costs of land-based mining, nations and stakeholders at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) chose after intense debate to postpone making a ruling on the fate of the planet’s oceans until 2024.

The United-Nations-affiliated ISA – along with its 168 member nations plus the European Union, with their oceanic regulatory responsibilities and governance rules for the protection of the marine environment – believe that more time is needed for an ecological road map for mining the ocean floor.

Time is running out for securing a low-carbon future. Without the extraction of nickel from the ocean floor, there will be vast damage associated from the current land-based mining practices.

Deep-sea mining was at the centre of extensive debate leading up to this pivotal ISA meeting. In all, 21 governments and numerous non-governmental organisations called for either a ban or a moratorium on seabed mining.

The convergence of the mining voices was prompted by Nauru, a Pacific Island nation. In 2021, it announced its intention to transition from exploration to exploitation under a controversial two-year loophole, calling for an ISA ruling now to finalise and adopt regulations for deep-sea mining.

Greenpeace activists hold a protest demanding an end to deep-sea mining, in front of the Ministry of Industry in Prague, Czech Republic, on June 1. The banner reads: “The seabed is my home. Do not destroy it.” Photo: Reuters

“The clean energy transition is happening now and we have a decision to make – do we take our energy future into our own hands or do we continue to allow China to dominate the battery supply chain that will fuel the US electric vehicle fleet?” asked Craig Skesky, chief financial officer of the Metals Company, a Canada-based mining company.