Greenabler: Raw materials from the deep sea

Demand is expected to remain strong in the future as well, as greenablers are used in batteries for electric vehicles, magnets in wind turbines, and other renewable energy applications. This elevated demand for certain materials has revived interest in deep sea deposits and triggered numerous discussions about potential exploitation. Generally speaking, deep sea mining refers to the extraction of three kinds of mineral deposits that are found on the seabed:

• polymetallic sulphides (so-called black smokers or white smokers),

• polymetallic nodules (so-called manganese nodules), and

• cobalt-rich crusts,

These deposits have formed over many millions of years*, with concentrations of greenabler elements that are in the low single-digit percentage range**.

* For example, cobalt-rich iron-manganese crusts grow at rates of up to 5 mm in 1 million years. Polymetallic nodules with a diameter of 15 cm may be up to 15 million years old.

** The concentrations of the minerals depends on the location and deposit. For instance, a polymetallic nodule from the Peru Basin has the following average mineral content: 1.3% nickel, 0.6% copper, and 0.05% cobalt. The manganese content may be 34.2% (source: Geomar).

The deep sea is the largest ecosystem

The deep sea covers water depths and seabeds located at or below around approximately 200 metres from the surface. These depths are mostly or completely dark and are often located outside national jurisdictions. Consequently, the majority of the deep seabed falls under the jurisdiction of the International Seabed Authority (ISA or ISBA), which was established by the United Nations.

The ISA has a dual mandate:

• On the one hand, the goal is to protect the deep seas as part of humanity’s heritage,

• and on the other it is to promote the economic extraction of commodities in the deep sea.

The deep sea accounts for about 54% of the surface of the Earth and about 90% of the oceans. It is the Earth’s largest ecosystem and home to many specialised species, which live in extreme conditions such as high pressure, low temperatures, relatively high concentrations of oxygen in the water, and no light.

The biodiversity of deep sea areas with the aforementioned deposits of commodities is particularly high. The reason for this is mainly the higher nutritional content in the surrounding waters. Polymetallic nodules are also often the only solid rock in the otherwise very soft deep seafloor, and thus the only available habitat for sedentary organisms.

Life in the deep sea was only discovered in the second half of the 19th century. Systematic exploration started with the British Challenger expedition from 1872 to 1876. In subsequent decades, more discoveries were made such as the first black smoker in 1978/1979, while the DISCOL experiment conducted in the late 1980s investigated the effects of disturbances on the deep seafloor.

During recent decades, the extraction of commodities from the deep sea has only been carried out in small areas as part of research and development expeditions. The equipment deployed was often based on technologies used for deep sea oil drilling and mostly has not even completed the development phase. At present, commercial-scale deep sea mining is not taking place.

Risks and consequences of deep sea mining

There are significant ecological risks related to deep sea mining. Interventions in the deep sea can result in long-term disruptions in the ecosystem and extinctions, with potentially wide-ranging consequences for other habits and their food chains. The costs for extraction, research, and monitoring in the deep sea are very high, and the restoration of former production sites is complex and protracted (if it is even possible at all in full).

The ISA plays a central role in issuing licences and formulating environmental protection standards, but is subject to criticism, due to its dual mandate of protecting natural resources and promoting economic exploitation. The deep sea and its role in complex, global interactions related to the climate, food chains, and the like have not yet been researched enough to be able to estimate the consequences of large-scale, long-lasting disruptions of this fragile ecosystem.

Up to the present, the ISA has not issued any licences for commercial deep sea mining, and the codex for commercial deep sea mining remains unfinished. In light of the above uncertainties, many scientists, environmental protection organisations, companies, and national governments have called for a moratorium on deep sea mining until additional research results are available and effective protection measures can be formulated.

Raiffeisen KAG is opposed to deep sea mining. According to the current state of scientific knowledge, the environmental risks and the widespread consequences of disruptions to the ecosystem are incompatible with the responsible use of resources.