A recent Nature study titled “Biomass carbon emissions from nickel mining have significant implications for climate action” reveals that current research and database metrics vastly underestimate the environmental impact of nickel mining. Specifically, the study found that the land use associated with nickel mining has been understated by a factor of 4 to 500. This … Read more
A recent study published in Nature demonstrated that after 44 years, a nodule harvesting site in the CCZ showed mixed recovery signals. The physical impacts from the vehicle tracks and from the missing nodules were still clearly evident. Yet, many of the environmental signals pointed to varying degrees of recovery. Densities for the smaller and … Read more
A yet-to-be peer-reviewed paper claims that the production of oxygen by polymetallic nodules through hydrolysis is not possible based on laws of physics. Specifically, the Dark Oxygen hypothesis requires that the 2nd law of thermodynamics be broken for hydrolysis to occur. The preprint version of that paper is located here (Link) (To be fair to … Read more
A study by Andrew Sweetman and his team of researchers from Heriot-Watt University published on July 22, 2024, in Nature Geoscience citing evidence that polymetallic nodules produce oxygen – what Sweetman terms “dark oxygen.” Analysis of this report under “news and commentary” on COMRC ihttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01480-8nk
A study published in Sciences Advances on April 4, 2024 argues that one-third of great apes in Africa are at risk due to mining – particularly due to mining for critical energy minerals. Published study link is found here.
Bryan J. Omalley, Jayden Hyman, Patrick Schwing, Leigh Marsh. UMC 2023 (pp. 1-66). Rotterdam: Eckerd College.
M. G. Macklin , C. J. Thomas , A. Mudbhatkal , P. A. Brewer , K. A. Hudson-Edwards , J. Lewin , P. Scussolini , D. Eilander , A. Lechner , J. Owen , G. Bird, D. Kemp, and K. R. Mangalaa Abstract An estimated 23 million people live on floodplains affected by potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic waste derived from past and present metal mining activity. We analyzed the global dimensions of this hazard, particularly in regard to lead, zinc, copper, and arsenic, using a georeferenced global database detailing … Read more
Joris H. Wiethase, Erik Simon-Lledó, Aidan M. Emery, Daniel O.B. Jones, Thomas G. Dahlgren, Guadalupe Bribiesca-Contreras, Helena Wiklund, Tammy Horton, and Adrian G. Glover Abstract The global surge in demand for metals such as cobalt and nickel has created unprecedented interest in deepsea habitats with mineral resources. The largest area of activity is a 6 … Read more
Daina Paulikas, Steven Katona, Erika Ilves, Saleem H. Ali Abstract To meet UN Sustainable Development goals, a clean-energy transition with minimal ecological impact from its raw-material supply chain is essential. Polymetallic nodules lying unattached on the abyssal seafloor of the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion Clipperton Zone contain four critical metals (nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper) in large quantities, and the … Read more
Abstract The Metals Company (TMC) has commissioned Benchmark Minerals Intelligence (Benchmark) to model the environmental performance ofproducing critical minerals from polymetallic nodules found on the seafloor of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), in the Pacific Ocean.This is a three-part study: This attributional LCA is third party verified and ISO compliant under ISO standards 14040 & 14044. … Read more