​​Norway has become the first country to allow for commercial-scale deep-sea mining. On Tuesday, the Norwegian Parliament approved a controversial plan to open up 280,000 square kilometers (108,000 sq miles) of Norway’s northern waters for potential mining.

The Norwegian government has assessed that there are millions of metric tons of copper, cobalt, zinc, and thousands of tons of rare earth minerals on the sea bed, estimated to have a value of almost $100 billion. The minerals could help foster Norway’s green industry as the country seeks to gradually phase out its oil and gas production, and provide key resources for the green transition.

Even so, the government has faced stiff opposition from climate organizations and parties to the left of Norway’s center-left governing coalition, who warned that the mining could be catastrophic for marine life.

link: https://www.semafor.com/article/01/10/2024/norway-deep-sea-mining