{"id":60201,"date":"2023-06-16T07:38:58","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T19:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=60201"},"modified":"2025-07-28T21:04:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T09:04:37","slug":"what-is-deep-sea-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/what-is-deep-sea-mining\/","title":{"rendered":"What is deep sea mining and why is it a threat to the ocean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deep sea mining is the practice of mining metals and minerals from the seabed. It\u2019s an extremely destructive form of mining that would damage the oceans beyond repair, threatening their ability to help fight climate change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know:<\/p>\n\n

  • What is deep sea mining?<\/a><\/li>\n
  • What are the problems with deep sea mining?<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Why do companies want to mine the seabed?<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Where is it happening?<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Who is involved?<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Who would be affected by deep sea mining?<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Opposition to deep sea mining<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Stop deep sea mining<\/a><\/li>\n\n

    What is deep sea mining?<\/h2>\n\n

    Deep sea mining is the practice of removing metals and minerals from the ocean\u2019s seabed. Thousands of metres below the surface, deposits of these metals and minerals like manganese, nickel and cobalt have built up on the seafloor into potato-sized nodules over millions of years.<\/p>\n\n

    To mine these metals, gigantic machines weighing more than a blue whale would scoop deposits from the deep ocean floor. They\u2019d then pump the mined material up to a ship through up to several kilometres of tubing. Sand, seawater and other mineral waste would then be pumped back into the water.<\/p>\n