At the same time, the assessment of environmental impacts and risks of deep-sea mining and how to minimize the impacts is recognized as a priority task on the way towards the establishment of the deep-sea mining industry.ĭeep-sea mining is still a new area of human activity, so knowledge in this field is limited. Besides of critical metals, recovery of many other metals and non-metals from marine minerals can contribute to strengthening the European industrial sector. The strategic importance of raw materials from the sea, such as polymetallic nodules, seafloor polymetallic sulphides, cobalt-rich crusts, and others, increases constantly. Taking into account the fact that the European Union imports more than 3/4 of its critical raw materials, seabed minerals become an important strategic alternative for establishing a more diverse import market to secure domestic industries against market shocks and increased prices, which is one of the most important elements of Europe’s economic strategy.
Moreover, a transition to a climate-friendly, low carbon economy will require a huge amount of raw materials, many of which are listed as critical ones for the European Union. Mining will not disappear in a circular economy due to the growing demand for raw materials driven by global trends, such as population growth and the rise of the global middle class.
Join the International Summer School online! Learn about the environmental, economic, legislative and political aspects of deep-sea mining.
0 kommentar(er)
