Why Mine the Seafloor?

Valuable Materials

Metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and others are rich at such depths. Whether you know it or not, they are all around you right now! You can find them in phones, batteries, cars, laptops, and tons of other technologies. Marine genetic resources, or MGR, are also collected down near the sea floor and they can range from fish, coral, seaweed, bacteria, and just about any deep sea organism you can find (Wall, T. et al. 2022). These biological materials are used to develop medicines, biofuels, cosmetics, and tons of other items that help us everyday. The previously mentioned metals and more can be found near hydrothermal vents where hot water rich in such material flows out from beneath the surface. They can also be sourced from nodules and crusts of rocks that are laying on the ocean floor.