Norway is gearing up to mine precious metals from the depths of its ocean in a world first

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 08:11

A picture shows blue-black polymetallic sea nodules piled in a bucket. — Sea nodules collected from the deep sea floorbed are shown here. These deposits are rich in nickel, manganese and cobalt.
Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images

Norway is set to become the first country to move forward with deep-sea mining in its waters.
The move is controversial as it could pose a risk to marine environments.
Industry experts don't expect deep-sea mining to start before at least the early 2030s.

Norway is set to become the first country to open its seas to commercial deep-sea mining, despite concerns about the industry's potential to destroy marine life.