The Trump administration could push deep-sea mining for critical minerals

Critical minerals are the new oil: everyone needs them, but not every country has them. This has led some to search in some pretty wild places. Few places are as strange as the depths of the ocean.

But deep sea mines are visible is preparing to receive support from the incoming Trump administrationThis was reported by The Wall Street Journal. A number of candidates have all said they support the experiment, which involves vacuuming egg-shaped rocks known as nodules from the ocean floor.

Nodules contain a range of minerals depending on where they are located. Mining companies can recover copper, nickel, cobalt and other minerals vital to data centers and the energy transition.

But deep sea mining is controversial. Life thousands of feet below sea level is slow growing and fragile. Even small disturbances on the ocean floor can persist for decades, and scientists worry that sediment from mining companies’ vacuums will leave traces that can never be recovered on the scale of human time.

Removing knots can also threaten deep-sea life: Because light doesn’t reach the depths to fuel photosynthesis, organisms depend on other sources of energy and oxygen, from geothermal vents. the nodules themselves.

Still, the value of those minerals and their presence in international waters has made some countries lose their perspective. The UN’s International Seabed Organization is tasked with regulating deep-sea mining in international waters, and it recently received a permit application from US company The Metals, which works with the impoverished southern island nation of Nauru. The Pacific Ocean. Other countries, including the UK, Canada and France, have called for a ban on the practice.

Given the international focus on deep-sea mining, two of the Trump administration’s nominees, Elise Stefanik and Marco Rubio, stand out. Stefanik is Trump’s pick for UN ambassador and is expected to lead Rubio’s State Department. Finally, they will negotiate with other countries to determine how to regulate deep-sea mining.

Despite the favorable political environment, deep sea mining still faces some rough waters ahead. Battery manufacturers have begun to shy away from expensive minerals such as nickel and cobalt. If this trend continues, it could dampen demand and lower prices, hurting the profitability of the sector.