Berlin The Pacific island nation of Nauru has only around 11,000 inhabitants. But it could trigger an earthquake that would fundamentally change not only the sea, the largest ecosystem on earth, but also the global supply of raw materials.
Nauru plans to join forces with Canadian company The Metals Company (TMC) to apply for the world’s first license to mine huge metal deposits from the seabed. That would be the go-ahead for mining in international waters, which cover more than half of the earth’s surface.
Because it is about a potentially billion-dollar business, geopolitical warfare has been intensifying for months, reaching as far as the federal government. Environmental concerns collide with the desire for greater independence in the supply of metals such as cobalt, nickel or copper. Developing countries are hoping for a much-needed source of income. The struggle for deep-sea mining is therefore a real business crime.
So far, deep-sea mining has been considered an exotic topic. This is already evident from the fact that the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which as a UN sub-organization issues licenses for the exploration of potentially resource-rich areas on the bottom of international seas and is based in Jamaica, only has around 40 employees.
As early as the 1970s, the German raw materials group Preussag examined the depths of the Pacific to see whether it might be worth using metals from so-called manganese nodules from the sea floor. Because of the falling raw material prices on the world market, however, the considerations were abandoned.
Germany: 75,000 square kilometer license area in the Pacific
Since 2006, Germany has had a 75,000 square kilometer license area in the Pacific, in which, according to the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), there are large quantities of these handball-sized manganese nodules at a depth of several thousand meters.
Since 2006, Germany has had a 75,000 square kilometer license area in the Pacific.
(Photo: imago images/Ardea)
They contain copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese and some other metals. “That makes them attractive – and that could make them competitive, despite the high energy costs to get them from a depth of 4,000 or 5,000 meters,” says BGR expert Annemiek Vink.
In the race for raw materials, the huge exploration area in Germany in the so-called Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), which is hardly known to the public, looks like the solution to many problems at first glance. After all, they want to make themselves more independent of authoritarian states like China when it comes to raw materials.
For example, cobalt is in great demand for high-tech products. Therefore, companies in several states are developing different mining technologies. The BGR has already tested hydraulic collectors from Belgium. The Norwegian company Loke is developing a mining device for two British license areas – and promises little damage to the seabed.
“We have to find alternatives in order not to be dependent on China,” emphasized Hildegard Bentele, CDU MEP and rapporteur for the European Parliament on raw material supply, at a deep-sea mining conference of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation a few days ago.
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But while the industry and the Union are pushing, the responsible green-led ministries in the traffic light government and many experts are very cautious and warn against starting to mine manganese nodules, for example.
Environmentalists, Greens and biologists warn
This is mainly for environmental reasons. “We advocate postponing the start of deep-sea mining. We have to protect the seabed and get clarity about possible consequences for the climate,” says Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Franziska Brantner (Greens).
State Secretary for Economic Affairs Brantner points to possible CO2 sinks.
(Photo: IMAGO/Political Moments)
One is not alone with the wish that the seabed authority should not issue a mining license for the time being. “France, Costa Rica, Brazil, Spain, Finland, New Zealand and many Pacific island nations, for example, are in the alliance that also want another pause in mining,” she says.
“The issue of environmental impact is crucial. Further technological developments are needed, including systems other than just hydraulic lump pick-up,” emphasizes BGR expert Vink. Initial tests of the collectors showed that they sucked in the top four to eight centimeters of the sea floor with the nodules.
The machines churn up the seabed, on which tiny particles have been deposited over millions of years. The consequences of this are still unclear. So far, this has only been tried on distances of 50 to 60 meters. Tests with improved collectors are scheduled to take place in 2025.
According to Matthias Haeckel from the Geomar-Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel, a really economical mining of the manganese nodules would require completely different dimensions. “In order to make mining profitable, you would have to harvest two to three million tubers a year,” he says. This would mean that a single mining operation would affect 200 to 300 square kilometers of seabed per year – an area about the size of Munich.
Impact assessment difficult
Economic State Secretary Brantner points to possible CO2 sinks, i.e. the danger that carbon dioxide bound in the sea could escape into the atmosphere by stirring up the soil. In addition, environmental protection organizations warn that although mining on land also interferes with nature, renaturation is much easier there.
The island state of Nauru first expressed its interest in mining raw materials in the deep sea in 2021.
(Photo: Reuters)
The sea floor could only stabilize again after millions of years, explains Antje Boetius, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Marine Research. She advocates using raw material resources on land first.
However, assessing the consequences is difficult. The University of Pforzheim has just published a study that comes to a completely different conclusion: “The overall climate impact of the production of these metals from manganese nodules is 27 percent lower compared to the current projects on land,” it says.
For example, the energy required for mining on land and under sea was compared. “Why does it make sense to destroy rainforests to mine nickel but not extract the metal from the seabed, where life is least abundant?” asks Gerard Barron, CEO of metal mining company TMC.
Pressure for a dismantling from many sides
The island state of Nauru first expressed its interest in deep-sea raw material mining in 2021 and ensured that the seabed authority should draw up a set of rules with precise environmental requirements and modalities for deep-sea mining within two years.
However, the task of eventually using manganese nodules from the Pacific for German industry is complex.
(Photo: dpa)
But seven experts interviewed by Reuters believe it is impossible for a 200 to 300-page rulebook to be presented in time for the July deadline. Therefore, it is now considered legally open whether the seabed authority can issue mining licenses without such a set of rules – on the basis of the previous, but not very detailed rules for exploration.
Nauru announced that it would not apply for a mining license for the time being. “It is in our interest to have legal certainty and responsible development,” emphasized Margo Deiye, Nauru’s ambassador to the ISA. Theoretically, however, any state can apply as a sponsor for companies from July.
The pressure to start exploiting deep-sea resources soon comes from many directions. On the one hand, the hunger for raw materials in the industrialized countries is huge. Japan, for example, has long since begun mining sulfides in the deep sea in its own economic zone.
On the other hand, the seabed authority has so far issued research licenses with the express aim of later mining raw materials. TMC is under pressure for publicizing its deep-sea mining plans for the likes of Glencore and others, raising expectations among investors.
African countries are also pushing for a start. They do not have license areas like the industrialized countries. But because it’s mining in international waters, part of the revenue has to go to an international fund.
This is also emphasized by Alexander Proelß, Professor of International Maritime Law at the University of Hamburg. How high the income from the mining license is and how it will be distributed is still completely open.
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In any case, many are lured here by the big money. “African countries want mining, but are insisting on higher income,” says BGR expert Vink, summarizing the interests. According to Proelss, the liability issues for environmental damage, for example, are also open. It is feared that small “cheap sponsor states” like Nauru will open the door to mining for powerful corporations without actually being able to control them.
German industry is pushing
German industry is also pushing. “The BDI is fundamentally open to deep-sea mining, the opportunities outweigh the risks,” says Matthias Wachter, the association’s raw materials expert, to Reuters. “We shouldn’t put the issue off for too long,” he says, referring to the desire for greater security in the procurement of raw materials.
“From 2026 Germany should also create the conditions for production to begin in its Pacific region.” Wachter calls for a clear signal from the federal government that it promotes and supports the mining of manganese nodules.
The head of the Canadian company TMC is also urging: “It has to be accepted that we need more metals,” says Barron. However, some companies are also concerned about their desired green image and do not want deep-sea metals in their supply chains. Volkswagen had even made this public in 2021.
A problem for Germany and the search for a secure metal supply is that there are no longer any large mining companies in this country that can take the lead. Many medium-sized companies are now pooling their interests.
“The aim of the Deepsea Mining Alliance (DSMA), founded in 2014, is to also promote the mining of raw materials on the seabed,” says Managing Director Johannes Post to Reuters. The DSMA members together have the necessary know-how both for the mining and for the necessary environmental monitoring during the mining.
“Germany should not only spend many millions of taxpayers’ money on environmental research, which is certainly important, but also prepare for the mining of manganese nodules, for example,” demands the former Preussag environmental expert. “Under no circumstances should Germany sell or give away the German license in the Pacific.”
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However, the task of eventually using manganese nodules from the Pacific for German industry is complex. BGR expert Vink emphasizes that it is not enough to bring the nodules from the deep sea to the surface of the sea. “There must also be processing plants.” There are still no plants on land for separating the metals.
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