Copyright
John C. WiltshirePublished On
2024-04-08Page Range
pp. 39–46Language
- English
Print Length
8 pages
Ocean Minerals
Chapter of: Heavy Metal: Earth’s Minerals and the Future of Sustainable Societies(pp. 39–46)
The oceans cover 71% of the planet, and the seafloor contains the largest source of new minerals yet to be exploited, including manganese nodules and crusts, and polymetallic sulfides. These ocean floor deposits could provide a vast source of critical metals for the coming green economy, including cobalt, nickel, copper and rare-earth elements. However, the environmental effects of large-scale seafloor mining are not well known, and hotly debated between mining companies eager to profit, and environmental groups seeking to impose moratoria on seabed mining pending better documentation of potential impacts. Seabed mining, presently in limbo, could start as early as 2025.
Contributors
John Wiltshire
(author)Emeritus Professor at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
President at International Marine Minerals Society
John Wiltshire is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Hawaii, former chair of the Ocean and Resources Engineering Department and past Director of the National Undersea Research Center in Hawaii for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is currently editor of the journal Marine Georesources and Geotechnology, and President of the International Marine Minerals Society. He is a Fellow of the Marine Technology Society, and Vice President of the TCI Consulting Group on the Big Island of Hawaii. He is a geologist by training, and has worked in the exploration departments of several international mining companies, conducting base metal exploration in Northern Canada, where he lives part of the year.