Vital minerals are the new oil; Everyone needs them, but not every country has them. That leads some to seek them out in wild places. Some areas are as wide as the depths of the ocean.
But then deep-sea drilling came up. It's poised to get a boost from the incoming Trump administration.According to the Wall Street Journal. All of the nominees have previously said they support the practice of scooping egg-like rocks, known as lumps, from the ocean floor.
Nodules contain a range of minerals depending on where they are located. Mining companies use copper, which is critical for data centers and energy transmission. nickel All cobalt and other metals can be recovered.
But deepwater drilling is controversial. Life thousands of feet below sea level is slow-growing and fragile. Even small disturbances on the ocean floor can persist for decades, and scientists worry that sediment from mining company vacuums will leave scars that humans can heal over time.
Removing the nodules threatens deep-sea life: Because light can't reach the depths to drive photosynthesis, life depends on other sources of energy and oxygen, from geothermal vents to geothermal vents. nodules themselves.
Still, the value of these minerals and their presence in international waters has some countries wary of the prospect. The International Seabed Authority, a United Nations body tasked with regulating deep-sea drilling in international waters, recently received a permit from The Metals, an American company working with the impoverished southern republic of Noru. Pacific. UK Other countries, including Canada and France, have called for a ban on the practice.
Due to the international attention of deepwater drilling, the two Trump administration nominees are Elise Stefanik and Marco Rubio. Stefanik is Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador, and Rubio is expected to lead the State Department. Ultimately, They will be negotiators with other countries and decide how to control deep-sea drilling.
Despite the favorable political environment, there is still some raw water ahead of deepwater drilling. Battery makers are moving away from expensive metals like nickel and cobalt. If the trend continues, This could dampen demand, drag down prices and hurt the sector's profitability.