How One Company Plans to Mine the Bottom of the Sea

A company in Canada has a new plan. They want to take metals from the sea floor. The metals are in the Pacific Ocean. The rocks are called polymetallic nodules. These rocks have nickel inside. They also have copper and cobalt. They have manganese too. These metals are very important. Electric cars need these metals. Car batteries need these metals too. The company will use special robots. The robots work under water. They will go very deep. They will work at 4,000 meters. That is very far down.

Some people like this plan. They say sea mining is better than land mining. Land mining cuts down forests. Land mining also hurts animal homes. Land mining makes noise for people too. Sea mining may cause less damage. But other people are worried. They say the deep sea has tiny animals. These animals live in the dark water. No one knows much about them. The sea animals may get hurt. Scientists want to study them first.

The company says not to worry. They will follow strict rules. They say the plan will help the economy. More metals mean more electric cars. More electric cars mean clean air. The world needs clean energy. So people keep arguing about it. Some want the mining. Some want to protect the sea.

Sources: nytimes.com