Image Courtesy: Dialogue Earth
Article 41/ 2024
Critical minerals are now vital for a nation's technological progress, economic growth, and national security. They are extensively used in various sectors such as information technology, aerospace, defence, and other emerging industries. The global push toward clean energy has accelerated the demand for these minerals. As interest in sustainable and green technologies increases, the competition for critical minerals has intensified. This surge in demand has led to greater deployment of clean energy technologies, including renewables (low-carbon power generation), battery storage, electric vehicles (EVs), and related infrastructure. The energy transition heavily relies on technologies that require diverse critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite, nickel, copper, chrome, and rare earth elements. Countries such as China, the USA, Russia, and Germany have placed significant emphasis on sourcing these minerals, with China leading the race in both sourcing and refining.
The International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook report indicates that the critical minerals market is projected to grow from $40 billion in 2020 to $280 billion by 2030 and $400 billion by 2050. As demand for these minerals surges, nations are actively seeking new sources globally. A shortage of critical minerals could hinder the advancement of clean energy technologies. Establishing domestic supply chains for these minerals is challenging without local raw materials, leading many countries to explore the rich mineral deposits on the ocean floor. Deep-sea mining, which targets deposits found over 200 metres below the surface, is being considered as a potential solution. This vast area, covering about 65% of the Earth's surface, contains a wide variety of species, many of which remain undiscovered. Although commercial seabed mining has not yet begun, trials are already underway. Deep-sea mining is the process of extracting minerals from the ocean floor, at depths of 2,000 meters or more.
Deep-sea exploration is emerging as a key frontier in the global quest to tap into reserves of metals like nickel, copper, and manganese. These minerals are found in deep-ocean nodules, hydrothermal vents, and crusts. China has made rapid strides as a major contender in this race to extract critical minerals from the ocean floor, bolstered by significant government investments. This has positioned China as a dominant player in the deep-sea mining industry, with Beijing increasing its investments and influencing negotiations to secure its future success. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that climate targets would need at least four to six times more of these “critical” minerals by 2040. Such estimates have understandably attracted governments and industry to increase the exploration and extraction, and push for diversification of supplies. Besides land-based mining, sea beds are also being explored to harness the rich critical mineral reserves therein.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) issues licences for exploration and mining in designated deep-sea areas beyond the jurisdiction of individual nations. The ISA's primary goal is to ensure that profits from deep-sea mining are shared fairly. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), achieving climate targets will require four to six times more "critical" minerals by 2040. This has led governments and industries to ramp up exploration and extraction efforts and diversify supply sources. In addition to land-based mining, seabeds are being explored for their rich reserves of critical minerals. Countries also have the right to explore and exploit natural resources within their territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ). As a member of UNCLOS, China has been successful as a major player as a policy/rule maker when it comes to deep sea mining, especially with the absence of the United States as the member of UNCLOS and in turn the ISA.
Countries can also mine the seabed within their own territorial waters. Japan plans to start large-scale deep-sea extraction by 2025, while Norway's parliament has approved mining in its national waters. In 2019, a deep-sea mining project in Papua New Guinea failed, leading to the insolvency of the company behind it, Nautilus, and a government loss of USD 101 million in investments. So far, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has issued 31 contracts for mining exploration in international waters, covering more than 1 million square kilometres. China was one of the first countries to send a permanent mission to the ISA.
China holds five blocks with exclusive exploration and priority mining rights, covering a total area of 235,000 km. As part of its "14th Five-Year Plan" strategic development period, China has introduced policies aimed at accelerating the development of deep-sea mineral resources.
Deep-sea mining focuses on three types of marine mineral deposits: polymetallic nodules (which contain nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and lead), polymetallic sulphides (sources of copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver), and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts (rich in cobalt, vanadium, molybdenum, platinum, and tellurium). The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has signed 15-year contracts with 31 contractors for the exploration of these deposits in international seabed areas. The exploration is concentrated in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the Indian Ocean, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the Pacific Ocean.
Image Courtesy: ISA
Image Courtesy: ISA
Polymetallic nodules cover vast areas of the ocean floor, with particularly high concentrations off the west coast of Mexico in the Pacific (Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone), the Central Indian Ocean Basin, and the Peru Basin. After the adoption of the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules in July 2000, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) signed exploration contracts Each contractor has been allocated an exploration area of 75,000 square kilometers for polymetallic nodules. The details are provided in the table.
The significance of polymetallic sulphides emerged after the discovery of metalliferous muds and brines in the Red Sea Rift system between 1963 and 1966, revealing the areas and quantities of minerals present. These metalliferous muds contained substantial amounts of copper, zinc, lead, iron, silver, and gold. Further discoveries of hydrothermal sites along the East Pacific Rise System, Galapagos Ridge, and the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges highlighted the potential of these metals, which are crucial for various industries, including electronics, construction, and renewable energy. As land-based mineral resources dwindle, polymetallic sulphide deposits in the ocean are becoming increasingly vital to meet the global demand for metals.
For polymetallic sulphides, each contractor is allocated an exploration area of 10,000 square kilometres, divided into 100 blocks, with each block measuring no more than 100 square kilometres. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has granted contracts for the exploration of these seabeds in various regions to the following countries:
Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts are found at depths ranging from less than 400 metres to over 5,000 metres in regions with substantial volcanic activity. Often, these deposits lie within the exclusive economic zones of various countries. For cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, each contractor is allocated an exploration area of 3,000 square kilometres, divided into 150 blocks, with each block not exceeding 20 square kilometres.
The following are the areas licensed for exploration by China:
Polymetallic Nodules: The Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone
(The area is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is an area of particular interest to mining companies. The zone is divided into 16 exploration areas controlled by different countries and the International Seabed Authority (ISA). According to an ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, “the largest coal mine in Germany is less than half the size of the area that would be mined for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in one year by one contractor. )
China Minmetals Corporation
China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association
Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Corporation - Polymetallic Nodules in the Pacific Ocean
Polymetallic Sulphides in the Indian Ocean- China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association
Cobalt Rich Ferromanganese Crusts in the Pacific Ocean: China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association
China's deep-sea mining (DSM) goals have been heavily supported by state-owned enterprises, with significant investments in this sector. The China Ocean Mineral Resource R&D Association (COMRA), established in 1990, has played a key role in advancing China's ambitions for deep-seabed development. COMRA operates under the Ministry of Natural Resources and, through it, China signed its first exploration contract for polymetallic nodules with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in 2001, securing exclusive exploration and preferential exploitation rights in the contracted seabed area. In 2011 and 2014, COMRA signed further exploration contracts with the ISA for polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, respectively.
China's deep-sea survey history dates back to the 1970s. In April 1978, the "Xiangyanghong 5" research vessel conducted a deep-sea survey in the Pacific Ocean, collecting polymetallic nodule samples from a depth of 4,784 meters. In 1991, the China Ocean Association became the fifth "pioneer investor" in deep-sea mining, following institutions in India, France, Japan, and the Soviet Union, securing a 150,000-square-kilometer polymetallic nodule development area in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). India was the first country to gain "Pioneer Investor" status in 1987, receiving a 150,000 km² area in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for nodule exploration.
In 2016, China implemented the Deep Sea Law to regulate deep-sea exploration and exploitation activities, covering areas such as licensing, environmental impact assessments, and monitoring requirements. In 2021, China’s COMRA tested a system to collect polymetallic nodules at a depth of 4,200 feet in the East and South China Seas.
The Jinhang Group, a private enterprise, has secured 20 million RMB in angel investment and signed multiple contracts to jointly develop China’s first commercial deep-sea mining robot and intelligent mining control systems by 2025. China is currently at the forefront of the deep-sea mining sector, holding five DSM exploration contracts authorized by the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
The Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) successfully passed an acceptance inspection and commenced official operations on May 12, 2012. The IDSSE serves as the first scientific research base dedicated to deep-sea studies and is also China's inaugural public platform for deep-sea research and technological experimentation.
In addition to universities and companies, provincial governments have also become involved in deep-sea exploration, with Shanghai and Qingdao initiating efforts to enhance related research opportunities in 2024.
Mining technology and equipment are significant issues in the research field of deep-sea development all over the world. Developed countries and regions such as the United States, Europe, and Japan have mastered the key technologies and acquired the key-equipment manufacturing capacity for deep-sea mining.
The technology required for deep-sea exploration is highly advanced. In recent years, deep-diving technology has progressed rapidly, from the use of unmanned submersibles to the development of manned submersibles. For unmanned submersibles, remote-controlled vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are equipped with devices like hydrological and water quality detectors (CTDs), magnetometers, hydrothermal anomaly sensors, and cameras. These devices transmit data wirelessly or via cables to the mother ship.
During the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Five-Year Plans, the China Ocean Association developed China's deep-sea mining technology strategy through research and analysis of various mining models. The chosen plan involves a "seabed crawler self-propelled hydraulic ore collection machine for gathering resources, a hydraulic pipeline slurry pump for lifting, and a surface mining ship for support." This strategy guided the technical design of a pilot ocean polymetallic nodule mining system, and the prototype's processing and manufacturing were completed.
Manned submersibles transport scientists to the seabed, allowing them to observe seabed geology and the water environment in real-time. This enables the study of geological conditions and the resource potential of seabed minerals, while specialized sampling equipment is used to collect geological and biological samples. Deep-sea sampling equipment, such as CTD, deep drilling tools, TV grabs, ROVs, trawls, tow boxes, and landing vehicles, is utilized to gather sediments, rocks, minerals, organisms, and seawater samples. These samples help analyze the formation, enrichment, surrounding environmental characteristics, and biological distribution of seabed mineral resources.
Currently, most marine mineral mining ships in operation are converted from large engineering or transport vessels. The world's first deep-sea mining ship specifically designed and built for deep-sea mineral resource development is the "Nautilus New Era," developed in 2018 through a partnership between Canada's Nautilus Mining Company and China's Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
Nautilus - New Era
In 2009, China developed the "Hailong 2" ROV for mineral exploration and sampling at depths of up to 3,500 meters, and it was successfully tested. In July 2012, China launched the "Jiaolong," a manned submersible independently designed and integrated, which set a record at the time with a diving depth of 7,062 meters, revolutionizing deep-sea exploration. That same year, the 7,000-meter "Jiaolong" unmanned submersible and the 6,000-meter "Hailong" were also successfully tested. China continued to make significant advances with key equipment, including the 6,000-meter-class "Qianlong No. 1" deep-sea resource exploration AUV and the 4,500-meter-class "Hai Ma" deep-sea remote-controlled unmanned submersible. In 2015, the "Qianlong No. 2" deep-sea robot carried out extensive scientific research on seabed mineral resources, such as polymetallic sulphides. In November 2020, the full-sea-depth manned submersible "Struggler" completed 13 dive trials in the Mariana Trench.
Looking ahead, two Chinese state-owned enterprises, China Minmetals and Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Corporation (BPHD), are set to trial deep-sea mining equipment in the Pacific Ocean next year. China Minmetals has developed a 9-meter-long, 5-meter-wide, 40-tonne collector vehicle for these trials. In 2020, China also provided the International Seabed Authority (ISA) with a training facility in Qingdao, a port city in eastern China.
In 2024, the "Kaituo 2," a deep-sea heavy mining vehicle independently developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, successfully completed an experiment in the Pacific Ocean. Notably, it achieved a record-breaking dive to a depth of 4,102.8 meters, marking the first time a Chinese mining vehicle had exceeded 4,000 meters. China Minmetals Corporation (Minmetals) plans to conduct tests of its polymetallic nodule collector vehicle between July and October 2025 in Block A-5 of the Minmetals Contract Area, as outlined in the contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
Additionally, China’s research vessel Tansuo-1, equipped with the deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver), completed its first international manned deep-diving scientific research mission in waters near Oceania.
Submisible developed by China for deep sea exploration
Changsha Mining Research Institute Co., Ltd. developed deep-sea core sampling drills specifically for investigating and sampling cobalt-rich crust resources. A 60-meter submarine multi-purpose drilling rig system was jointly developed by Hunan University of Science and Technology, the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau, and the Institute of Oceanology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2021, a team from Shanghai Jiaotong University created a prototype of a deep-sea heavy-duty mining vehicle. Another key aspect of deep-sea mining is the use of pumps with varying capacities to extract mud from the seabed. In 2018, funded by the National Key R&D Program, Central South University and Changsha Mining and Metallurgy Research Institute Co., Ltd. developed two sets of two-stage slurry lift pumps and obtained two sets of six-stage lift pumps. China's National Key Laboratory of Marine Engineering also completed research on optimizing the design of deep-sea mining lift pipeline pump stages.
In July 2023, the 28th Session of the ISA Assembly to negotiate the regulation of DSM was held in Jamaica. The participating countries did not agree on any mining codes. China blocked discussions on marine ecosystem protection and—together with Russia and South Korea—opposed the DSM moratorium advocated by many international NGOs and a growing number of countries. China did agree to hold formal discussions on these topics next year.
Concerns of Deep sea Mining
The lack of information regarding critical mineral deposits and the scientific uncertainties surrounding the ecosystem impacts of extraction render deep-sea mining (DSM) a risky endeavor. Scientists and environmentalists express concerns that heavy machinery could severely damage the ocean floor, with currents spreading the mining waste products. Additionally, rocks brought to the surface for extraction would be discarded back into the ocean, creating harmful sediment plumes. Experts warn that undersea mining conducted without proper regulations and an understanding of its environmental effects could lead to irreversible damage, according to Dialogue Earth. Chinese officials frequently state that environmental preservation must be weighed against developmental needs, a stance that raises concerns among other delegates.
The absence of the USA in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) presents a significant opportunity for China to enhance its global power and position itself as a maritime leader. The ISA is under pressure to establish regulations after the Pacific island of Nauru, in collaboration with Canadian firm The Metals Company, triggered a provision in 2021 requiring the organization to permit mining within two years, regardless of whether a regulatory code is established. This situation compels the ISA to open the seabed for commercial exploitation without any regulatory framework, as the latest draft regulations were not ratified by its members. During the 28th Session of the ISA Assembly in July 2023, held in Jamaica, no consensus was reached on mining codes. China, along with Russia and South Korea, opposed the DSM moratorium favored by many international NGOs and an increasing number of nations. Furthermore, China blocked discussions on marine ecosystem protection but agreed to engage in formal talks on these matters next year.
China alone impeded discussions on maritime protection, including the proposal for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, which is now supported by 22 countries concerned about environmental degradation.
Another significant concern regarding China's increased activity in the seabed involves potential illicit activities. Ship-tracking data from Global Fishing Watch and the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara, reveals that Chinese deep-sea survey vessels, such as the Dayang Hao, entered the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Palau, and the United States. One of these ships, the Kexue, conducted surveying for 20 days in July and August 2022 near the Scarborough Shoal, a highly contested area in the South China Sea that is the focus of ongoing disputes between China and the Philippines, both of which claim sovereignty over the atoll. Additionally, the Dayang Hao appears to have conducted seabed surveys in the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines and Malaysia, close to the disputed Spratly Islands. The data collected from these explorations not only aids in mapping these regions but could also facilitate submarine navigation.
The dual purpose of these explorations raises further alarm among other countries: China’s national security law now includes the international seabed as a zone where Chinese assets and interests must be protected. The Central Military Commission, which supervises China’s armed forces, has designated the deep sea as a new battlefield. A 2022 article by a Chinese scholar states, “it is urgent to accelerate the formation of deep-sea battlefield environmental protection capabilities to provide basic support for maintaining my country's security and expanding overseas interests.” This paper discusses the concept of the deep sea and its environmental impacts, outlines the current situation and future challenges, and analyses the need for environmental protection in deep-sea strategic deterrence, underwater navigation, positioning, pre-positioned weapons, and forecasting scenarios. It concludes with recommendations for developing deep-sea battlefield environmental protection measures.
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