The Metals Company is releasing a sweeping inaugural impact report on mining polymetallic nodules on the ocean floor, Kallanish reports.
The report says that the mining of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese nodules from the Pacific Ocean floor will provide an alternative, large-scale supply of potentially lower-impact metals as compared to terrestrial sources. Those nodules will build up recyclable stocks of battery materials as the basis of a future circular metals economy, it says.
The report summarises the company’s environmental campaigns to learn more about deep-sea ecosystems as the company strives to produce a net-positive planetary impact. The report also looks at company plans, corporate structure and community involvement. It says there will be a global scramble in the coming years to meet the six-fold increase in the production of metals required for the energy transition. There will be required trade-offs, it says.
The company hopes the report will begin “a dialogue to help drive solutions that will bring that vision to life” and to develop new partnerships, says chief sustainability officer Erica Ocampo.
Later this year, the Metals Company and Swiss-based partner Allseas are planning to test the equipment on the ocean bottom in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii.
The Metals Company is working with Epsilon Carbon to complete a pre-feasibility study for a commercial-scale nodule processing plant in India, beginning in Q4 2024. The plant would produce an intermediate nickel-copper-cobalt matte product used for active cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries and manganese silicate to be used in steel.
The deal is dependent on The Metals Company getting approval from the UN’s International Seabed Authority to mine the nodules. The agency is aiming to complete first-ever regulations on ocean-floor mining by July 2023. Critics warn such mining may create environmental problems.
Read More: NICKEL, COPPER, PLATINUM: The Metals Company releases nodule impact report
