Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Seabed Mining News

09 Jan 2024

Norway Parliament Votes in favor of Seabed Mining

© Vladimir Mucibabic / Adobe Stock

Norway's parliament on Tuesday voted in favor of allowing Arctic seabed mineral exploration, in line with a deal reached between the government and key opposition parties last month, overcoming objections from environmental campaigners.The decision comes as Norway hopes to become the first country to make deep-sea mining happen on a commercial scale and secure critical minerals and jobs despite concerns over the environmental impact and international calls for a moratorium.There is yet no set timeline for when exploration could begin, although the plan is to award companies exclusive rights to

05 Dec 2023

Norwegian Parliament Strikes Deal to Advance Seabed Mining

Copyright journey2008/AdobeStock

Norway's minority government and two opposition parties have agreed to allow seabed mineral exploration in the Arctic region, they said on Tuesday, in a key step towards full-scale ocean mining.The deal comes as Norway hopes to become the first country to make deep-sea mining happen on a commercial scale and secure critical minerals and jobs despite concerns over the environmental impact and international calls for a moratorium.The amended version of the government's proposal, which parliament will formally debate on Jan.

03 Aug 2023

Canada's TMC to Apply for Seabed Mining Licence in 2024

© Velizar Gordeev / Adobe Stock

Canada's The Metals Company (TMC) aims to apply next year for a licence to start mining in the Pacific Ocean, with production expected to get underway by as early as the fourth quarter of 2025, it said in a statement.TMC has been at the forefront of efforts to begin extracting polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor, a nascent industry that could boost supplies of metals considered vital to the global energy transition, including nickel and cobalt.Environmental campaigners warn…

09 Nov 2022

Australian Mining Magnate Calls for Ban on Seabed Mining

Image courtesy of Investigation of an Historic Seabed Mining Test Site on the Blake Plateau, NOAA Ocean Exploration

Fortescue Metals executive chairman Andrew Forrest on Tuesday said his charitable foundation is in favor of a pause on seabed mining, the first time a prominent mining executive has spoken out against the nascent industry.Forrest said the Minderoo Foundation, which he and his wife Nicola fund with the dividends they get from Fortescue, will back a pause until there's sufficient evidence that damage to ocean environments can be prevented.Seabed mining would involve vacuuming up potato-sized rocks rich in battery metals that blanket vast swathes of the sea floor at depths of 4-6 kilometres…

12 Oct 2022

VIDEO: 'Historic Moment' as Seabed Nodules Collected and Lifted to Production Vessel Using 4 km Riser

Credit: TMC

The Metals Company (TMC) said Wednesday it had collected an initial batch of seafloor polymetallic nodules, and transported them up a 4km-long riser system to the surface in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean.TMC, the explorer of what it says is the world’s largest estimated undeveloped source of critical battery metals, said the move was a historic one, representing the first integrated system test conducted in the area since the 1970s."Having successfully completed…

05 May 2022

TMC, Allseas Complete Initial Deepwater Trials of Polymetallic Nodule Collector Vehicle

Hidden Gem - Credit: TMC

The Metals Company (TMC) and Allseas have successfully completed the initial deep-water trials of the polymetallic nodule collector vehicle in the Atlantic Ocean, TMC said Thursday.To remind, back in March, The Metals Company (TMC), a company extracting battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, said it had together with its strategic partner and shareholder, Allseas, completed the deployment and wet-test commissioning of their pilot robotic nodule collector vehicle at the Port of Rotterdam…

18 Mar 2022

TMC, Allseas to Develop Commercial Seabed Nodule Collection System. Plan to Buy Another Drillship

Allseas' Hidden Gem vessel - Credit: Allseas

The Metals Company (TMC), a company extracting battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, said Friday its subsidiary NORI had signed a non-binding term sheet with its strategic partner and shareholder, Allseas to develop and operate a commercial nodule collection system. The system has a targeted production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per year of wet nodules and expected production readiness by Q4 2024.According to TMC, formerly knowns as DeepGreen Metals, polymetallic nodules contain high grades of nickel…

25 Feb 2022

Seatools Delivers Deep-sea mineral Collection Equipment for Allseas' 'Hidden Gem'

Seatools polymetallic nodule collector delivery to Hidden Gem ©Seatools

Subsea technology company Seatools has delivered deep-sea mineral collection equipment for Allseas' Hidden Gem seabed mining ship.Seatools was responsible for the engineering, manufacturing, and qualification of the electronics, instrumentation, and hydraulics for Allseas’ pilot polymetallic nodule collection vehicle. The vehicle will be part of a pilot nodule collection test conducted by Allseas, which is scheduled to take place in 2022 in the Pacific Ocean.Allseas developed…