About this site
This site is designed to inform, educate and support evidence-based decision making.
We recognise that many people are instinctively fearful of going to the ocean floor for minerals. It’s normal to be hesitant about a novel activity. Unfortunately, much of the current conversation draws on fears, not facts. This is unhelpful. Critical decisions – such as whether to collect minerals from the deep sea – need to be rational and evidence led.
The stark truth is that population growth, urbanisation and climate change have combined to create profound and unprecedented resource challenges. We cannot escape this.
Wind turbines, solar panels and energy storage batteries do not come for free. These clean energy technologies require colossal amounts of metals. You could call it another inconvenient truth.
Meeting the demand for minerals such as nickel and cobalt involves some hard choices and trade-offs. No one disputes that we have to obtain them from somewhere.
Some argue that mineral deposits lying on the ocean floor should not be part of the conversation. But, what if ocean minerals can provide a better, less destructive way, of meeting demand? If we are to be responsible custodians of our planet, isn’t it our obligation to explore that possibility?
We know that the seafloor can provide the metals we need. What we have learnt so far indicates that there is a good chance that they can be obtained in a more environmentally and socially responsible way than many terrestrial alternatives.
The purpose of Minerals in Depth is not to promote seabed minerals. Rather it is to present facts and make the case for continued exploration and research so that we can find out if seabed minerals could be a better, more sustainable option for obtaining the metals society needs.
The global population is forecast to stabilise later this century and then start to decline. The decisions we take now should be seen in that light. We need to find the most sustainable and responsible ways of bridging the gap from where we are today – a fast growth global economy substantially fuelled by hydrocarbons – to a stabilised future sustained by renewable technologies and circular resource flows.
The website has been developed with funding provided by Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR), the deep-sea exploration division of DEME Group, with input from leading scientists engaged in deep sea and mineral research.
We hope you find it helpful and if you have questions or suggestions for improvement, please send them here: info@mineral-choices.com
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