Norway intends to open mining area in the ocean – 06/18/2023 – Environment

Norway’s government is preparing plans to open up an ocean area almost equal to the surface of Germany to deep-sea mining, with the aim of being the first country to extract battery materials from its ocean floor.

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy is due to submit a proposal to Parliament in the next two weeks to make a vast area available for exploration and extraction requests. The plan would then be put to Parliament for a vote in the autumn.

But Oslo faces opposition from fishing companies and environmental organizations and is at risk of opening a dispute with other countries because it wants to allow mineral extraction near the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, in the Arctic.

Norway says it holds exclusive mining rights over a larger area in that region than Russia, the UK and the EU consider to be the case.

Volcanic springs at depths of up to 4,000 meters that emerge from the Earth’s crust in faults between tectonic plates in the proposed area contain an estimated 38 million tonnes of copper, more than is mined worldwide each year.

Amund Vik, the Secretary of State for the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, told the Financial Times that deep-sea mining will help Europe meet “the huge need for more minerals, more rare earth materials to make the transition happen”. He further said that the government will take a precautionary approach to environmental issues.

The fluid that emerges from hydrothermal fissures like those found in Norwegian waters also contains other metals used to make electric car batteries, including cobalt. Meanwhile, rare earth metals such as neodymium and dysprosium can be extracted from the metallic crusts of the deep sea. These metals are used in the manufacture of wind turbine magnets and electric vehicle motors, but their supply chain is largely controlled by China.

Of the region predicted for potential mineral extraction, the most controversial part would be the area close to Svalbard. The Treaty of Svarlbard, which gives Norway sovereignty over the islands, also gives other countries the right to extract minerals on land and in the territorial waters surrounding the archipelago. Russia, the European Union and the United Kingdom are at odds with Norway over the extent of water covered by the treaty.

Meanwhile, fishing operations fear that pollution generated by mining will contaminate the fish. Jane Sandell, chief executive of UK Fisheries – whose super-trawler Kirkella is one of the last British fishing vessels to operate this far north – said she was deeply concerned about the possibility of toxic heavy metal particles being released.

Sverre Johansen, secretary general of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association, said the Norwegian fishing industry was “not at all impressed” by the proposal. The government says the potential conflict of interest is small, given limited fishing activity and little ship traffic in the area.

Norway’s environmental agency strongly opposes the plan. In response to an inquiry this year, she said the proposal violates the Norwegian legal framework for seabed exploration by not including enough data on sustainability.

The agency warned of “serious and irreversible consequences for the marine environment” due to mining and argued that hydrothermal fissures must remain untouched and that only small areas should be open to mining.

A problem for the Ministry of Energy is the fact that Norway declares itself on the international stage as the protector of its oceans and a source of sustainably caught fish.

Kaja Loenne Fjaertoft, a marine biologist at the Norwegian branch of the WWF campaign group, said “the government is speaking in two languages” when it advocates marine conservation while moving ahead with mining plans.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, currently co-chair of the Ocean Panel network of world leaders committed to protecting the oceans, told a local newspaper in March that deep-sea mining can be done without harming biodiversity.

Mining companies operating in other countries, including China, Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, Japan and New Zealand, have been exploring how to extract metals from coastal waters.

The UN-backed regulatory body that oversees tenders for mining in international waters, mainly in the Pacific, is expected to reach a turning point in negotiations next month.

Egil Tjaland, secretary general of the Norwegian Marine Minerals Forum, a representative body for the mining industry, said that deepwater extraction is a specialty for Norway, due to its strong marine oil and gas extraction base.

The group recently held a workshop in Berlin to discuss partnerships between the Norwegian and German industries in deepwater mining.

“If anyone gets there first, it should be us,” said Walter Sogness, chief executive of Loke Marine Minerals, which aims to mine Norway’s metallic crusts and recently won two UK-sponsored exploration contracts in the Pacific.

“We are a great fishing nation, we live by the sea, the ocean is our greatest natural resource. We would not be reinventing the wheel.”

Translated by Clara Allain