What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t

Deep-sea mining targets critical minerals like cobalt and nickel from polymetallic nodules, sulfides, and crusts, primarily in international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. While proponents argue it can meet surging demand for the energy transition and avoid some terrestrial mining harms, the practice faces significant opposition due to risks of species extinction, disruption of the ocean's carbon sink, and threats to food security in small island states. Commercial exploitation remains stalled as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has failed to reach a consensus on regulations as of July 2025, though some companies may attempt to bypass this via U.S. domestic law. Alternatives such as scaling up recycling and shifting to LFP or sodium-ion batteries could reduce the necessity of seabed extraction.

• Deep-sea mining targets minerals essential for decarbonization and technology, specifically copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, silver, gold, and rare earth elements, found in polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulfides, and metal-rich crusts.
• The Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean is a primary area of interest, currently hosting 17 contractors with exploration areas totaling approximately 1 million square kilometers.
• Commercial mining in international waters is currently stalled because the International Seabed Authority (ISA) failed to agree on exploitation regulations by July 2025, with negotiations set to resume in 2026.
• The Metals Company may attempt to circumvent the ISA's international permitting process by applying for licenses under the U.S. Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980, as the U.S. is not a member of the ISA.
• Deep-sea mining poses severe ecological risks, including the direct killing of organisms, habitat removal leading to species extinction, and the creation of sediment plumes that could suffocate marine life and disrupt fisheries in states like Kiribati, Vanuatu, and the Marshall Islands.
• Mining activity could impair the ocean's role as a carbon sink by disrupting microscopic organisms that sequester carbon and regulate the emission of planet-warming gases like methane.
• Increased circularity and technological shifts could significantly reduce the demand for newly mined minerals; recycling could lower the need for copper and nickel by 40% and lithium and cobalt by 25% by 2050.

APA

World Resources Institute (2025). What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t. https://www.wri.org/insights/deep-sea-mining-explained

Chicago

World Resources Institute. What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t. 2025. https://www.wri.org/insights/deep-sea-mining-explained.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t |date=23 July 2025 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/deep-sea-mining-explained |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2025what, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/deep-sea-mining-explained}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }