Chilling Read. Deep-sea minerals could meet the demands of battery supply chains - but should they?

[Budi]

"Could Deep Sea Mining Fuel The Electric Vehicle Boom?"


https://www.mining.com/web/deep-sea-minerals-could-meet-the-demands-of-battery-supply-chains-but-should-they/

Deep-sea minerals could meet the demands of battery supply chains – but should they?

The world is hungry for resources to power the green transition.
As we increasingly look to solar, wind, geothermal and move towards decarbonization, consumption of minerals such as cobalt, lithium and copper, which underpin them, is set to grow markedly.

One study by the World Bank estimates that to meet this demand, cobalt production will need to grow by 450% from 2018 to 2050, in pursuit of keeping global average temperature rises below 2°C.

The mining of any material can give rise to complex environmental and social impacts. Cobalt, however, has attracted particular attention in recent years over concerns of unsafe working conditions and labour rights abuses associated with its production.

CONCERNED SCIENTISTS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED OUR LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE DEEP-SEA AND ITS ECOSYSTEMS

New battery technologies are under development with reduced or zero cobalt content, but it is not yet determined how fast and by how much these technologies and circular economy innovations can decrease overall cobalt demand.

Deep-sea mining has the potential to supply cobalt and other metals free from association with such social strife, and can reduce the raw material cost and carbon footprint of much-needed green technologies.

On the other hand, concerned scientists have highlighted our limited knowledge of the deep-sea and its ecosystems. The potential impact of mining on deep-sea biodiversity, deep-sea habitats and fisheries are still being studied, and some experts have questioned the idea that environmental impacts of mining in the deep-sea can be mitigated in the same way as those on land.
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This is sickening. It's the trade off for Petroleum.
And you know at this point there's a whole group of investors, buyers & profiteers drueling at the immense profit to be made off the deep blue seabed.