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The recent events in it show how dependent the civilization is on strategic materials, there are abundant reserves of them at the bottom of the ocean, but is it worth it?


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<center><a href=" https://static.nationalgeographicla.com/files/styles/image_3200/public/001_2015-09-09_19-00-51_sonne_so242-2_176_logo.webp?w=1450&h=816">Source</a></center>

Hello ecotrain friends, I hope you are very well. Today I want to make a small informative post about underwater mining, an activity that although still in an experimental phase, is increasingly positioned as a fact that will occur in the future. On the internet there is plenty of information about it, so the aim of this post will be to highlight the most important facts, and put you dear reader on the way to explore the subject further.

<h1>What is deep sea mining. </h1>

The goal of underwater mining is essentially the same as traditional mining, to get precious minerals from the earth, but the methods used in underwater mining differ greatly from those of traditional mining, as mining operations must not only deal with the crushing pressures found in the deep ocean, Subsea ores of different types are found at depths between 600 and 7000 meters, far beyond what any diver can reach, and also far beyond what any submersible can reach, subsea mining also looks for minerals in geological formations that may differ greatly from traditional mining.

There are basically 3 key targets for subsea mining.

Polymetallic nodules are like rocks found at great depths on the seabed, but unlike rocks, they were formed from small fragments of calcium from marine life, such as shark teeth for example, and by redediting them, due to chemical, thermal, geological and other processes, minerals such as copper, magnesium nickel, titanium, cobalt, gold, and other metals of great value for the electronics industry, and important minerals for the agricultural industry, were grouped together.

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<center><a href=" https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals/special_issues/polymetallic_nodules ">Source</a></center>

In this video you can see a little more about the mining process of polymetallic nodules and underwater mining in general.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iy5jEHWykQ

<h1>Hydrothermal vents. </h1>
They are basically small semi-active volcanoes on the ocean floor, which constantly expel minerals from the bottom of the earth, due to different physical phenomena many of the most valuable minerals, such as cobalt, vanadium and platinum, are concentrated in the vicinity of the chimney, creating deposits with high concentrations of valuable minerals.


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<center><a href=" https://sciworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/MARUM-HTQ-01-HiRes-730x548.jpg ">Source</a></center>

To exploit this type of deposit requires practically destroying the chimney with all that this implies for biodiversity, but it is also possible to exploit inactive chimneys, which can be thousands of years old.

A video about it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vgRQAtPSMU

And finally there is the mining of Cobalt Rich Crusts (CRCs) which are layers of a few tens of centimeters on the surface of submarine mountain formations, and as the name suggests are rich in cobalt, a vital material for the electronics industry, but also contain many other strategic minerals.

<h1>Why, and why now? </h1>
It is important to stress that although subsea mining is in an experimental phase still, with only one successful pilot project launched in Japan in 2019, which demonstrated that there are many challenges, of technical training, technological advancement, and profitability,

Subsea mining is increasingly being discussed in industry circles as deposits of valuable minerals on the earth's surface are depleted, and demand is growing at an exponential rate, far exceeding the available supply, the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine highlights how sensitive the industry is to the loss of a portion of production. Therefore there are already companies forming to explore and exploit seabed mineral resources, and nation states and international bodies are already licensing such companies to explore and exploit these resources.

A clean energy future will need a lot of cobalt, nickel and others...

One of the most controversial points about underwater mining is whether it is worth the damage that will be done to the environment and marine fauna when it starts on a large scale, since it implies the destruction of the seabed, vital for the sustainability of life in the sea, and eventually also on land, pollution, alteration of the dynamics of marine life, some deep sea species can be totally blinded only by the lights of the submersibles...

But on the other hand we have the fact that the sea, which makes up 70% of the earth's surface, and of which 90% is deep water with potentially rich mineral beds, has many more deposits of valuable minerals than the earth's surface, those necessary for clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars, lithium batteries etc ... and if we compare the damage done to the environment by traditional mining, with that of underwater mining, the latter would be the least harmful.

Therefore the debate continues, and there are already movements trying to regulate and control the underwater mining of the future.

More information in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HoVwJH-_so
<h1>Conclusion</h1>

Modern technological advances, coupled with the urgency of applying cleaner technologies, the resurgent space race and the scarcity of minerals are making underwater mining more viable and necessary every day, but humanity knows very little about the seabed and we do not know what possible consequences this activity may have for life on the planet, whatever the case may be, in the coming years we can almost certainly expect that underwater mining will become a reality.

Thanks for reading. If you liked the post, please support me with your vote.

<h1>  Recommended Bibliographic Reference</h1>

[1]<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_sea_mining#Extraction_methods
 "> EXTRACTION METHODS</a>

[2]<a href="https://www.nationalgeographicla.com/medio-ambiente/2022/04/la-explotacion-minera-en-aguas-profundas-podria-matar-a-animales-aun-no-descubiertos
 "> LA EXPLOTACION MINERA EN AGUAS PROFUNDAS PODRIA MATAR A ANIMALES AUN NO DESCUBIERTOS</a>

[3]<a href=" https://www.isa.org.jm/files/documents/EN/Brochures/ENG7.pdf
"> BROUCHES </a>

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