Enabling the green shift
A pioneer in the marine mineral industry
The challenge
The world drives towards electrification and digitization requires an enormous increase in the primary stock of metals, minerals and rare earth elements (REE). Simultaneously, the onshore mining industry is mired in a self-reinforcing spiral of ever increasing environmental footprint to extract the marginal tonne of mineral, as ore grades decline, deforestation increases and waste per tonne ore. On top of this comes the huge social costs in onshore mining and a geopolitical dilemma as the EU and USA lack dependable supplies of raw materials considered vital for national security. The question is: how can we mine the metals needed for the green transition in a sustainable manner and where should they come from?
Our solution
Oceans cover 70pc of our planet. The seafloor contains vast amounts of metals, minerals, and REE that could be a solution for the green shift. Responsible deep-sea mining of these raw materials can in some cases reduce the environmental footprint in mining by more than 90pc (Paulikas et.al, 2020) while simultaneously solving the challenges related to social costs and the strategic need for the EU and USA. In addition, ore grades that are 4-10x higher than those typically found in new mines onshore reduce waste, increase ore efficiency, and reduce costs. With an estimated in-situ resource potential of 38 mT copper combined with the vast knowledge of deepwater operations acquired through decades of activity offshore and a high-quality, stable regulatory framework, the NCS is emerging as a competitive area globally.