The Norwegian government's plan to open up areas of the Arctic Ocean to undersea exploration has won majority support in parliament despite warnings from environmental groups and the fisheries sector about risks to the fragile ecosystem diversity, Mining.com reported.
On Tuesday, the country's minority center-left government and two main opposition parties announced their support for a plan put forward by the government in June to become the first country to commercialize deep-sea mining.
Rich oil and gas reserves have made the European country one of the richest in the world, but Norway wants to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.
The leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, Bud Ludvig Tolheim (B? Ludvig Thorheim, rd, said: "Renewable green industries rely on minerals. This is an important international contribution."
The plan drew immediate criticism. Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway, called the decision a "disaster for the seas" and said "our last wasteland" would become land for mining.
"We don't know what the consequences will be for Marine ecosystems, endangered species like whales and seabirds, or the fish we depend on," he said.
Karoline Andau, director of the Norwegian office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), called the decision "the greatest humiliation for modern Marine management in Norway and the end of Norway's reputation as a maritime nation in charge", he said.
Analysts also highlighted geopolitical risks in northern Europe and the Baltic region. Norway plans to open up areas for exploration in the Barents Sea and Greenland waters, near the Arctic island of Svalbard. The Norwegian government claims exclusive mining rights in the area, but Russia and the European Union dispute this.
According to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the 280,000 square kilometre area is located along the mid-Atlantic ridge and has volcanic hot springs rising from the earth's crust. The area is thought to contain 38 million tonnes of copper, equivalent to two years of world production.
A government-led survey also found rare earth elements in polymetallic sulphides, or so-called "black smoke tubes," nearly 3,000 meters deep.
While international regulations on seabed mining have yet to be issued, Norway does not need to wait, as it plans to explore its continental shelf extension.
Proponents of deep-sea mining say it is vital to meet growing demand for minerals. The International Energy Agency estimates that demand for copper and rare earth metals will grow by 40 per cent.
The agency also expects demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium to grow by 60%, 70% and 90%, respectively.
More research needed
Opponents of seabed mining have long warned that the effects of exploration and mining are not yet known, so more research should be done before moving forward.
In a study focused on the Pacific Ocean's Clarion-Clipperton Zone fault zone, researchers identified more than 5,000 species, most of which are not yet known to science. The CCZ stretches from Hawaii to Mexico.
