It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Arctic seabed mission documents fragile marine life threatened by Norway's deep-sea mining plans
By Denis Loktev
Published on
A month-long Arctic expedition has revealed deep-sea ecosystems in an area being considered for mining.
For a month, a team of international scientists explored the Arctic seabed off the coast of Norway. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) roamed the ocean's seamounts and hydrothermal vents, plunging as deep as 3,000 metres.
Their mission? To gather evidence on the rare and fragile marine life that could be threatened by plans to mine the seabed for critical minerals.
The expedition, run by Greenpeace, was livestreamed, drawing more than 450,000 viewers on social media platforms.
Scientists at the ROV control room Greenpeace
Among the species filmed was a rare Dumbo octopus – coincidentally, the mascot of the expedition. Researchers also gathered more than 400 sponge samples and identified several species that may be new to science.
Anne Helene Tandberg, a researcher at the University in Bergen who took part in the expedition, says deep-sea ecosystems are particularly slow to recover from disturbances. "Very many of the species are long-lived and don't produce very many offspring, so if something happens, they have very little [capacity for] restitution," she says.
The deep sea, even though it's far away from us, is already suffering a lot of problems.
Anne Helene Tandberg
University in Bergen
Tandberg adds that climate change is compounding the problem. Many deep-sea invertebrates rely on cold, stable water and external skeletons built from calcium, both of which are affected as oceans warm and acidify. "The deep sea, even though it's far away from us, is already now suffering a lot of problems," she says.
Relate
An ROV arm holding a "Listen to the science" poster at the Arctic seabed Greenpeace
Seabed mining plans face fierce debate
The area surveyed during the expedition was opened up for deep-sea mining by the Norwegian government in 2024. Exploration has since been paused until at least 2029, following objections from environmental groups, scientists, fishing communities and opposition parties in Norway.
Supporters of deep-sea mining, including some governments and mining companies, argue that the seabed holds reserves of critical minerals – such as cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements – needed for batteries, electric vehicles and other green technologies, and that these reserves could ease pressure on land-based supply chains. Norway has cited this rationale in pursuing its own domestic seabed resources.
Critics, including marine scientists and conservation groups, counter that the environmental risks are poorly understood and potentially irreversible, and that sufficient mineral reserves still exist on land. There are calls for a moratorium until the impacts are better known. Negotiations over international mining rules, led by the UN's International Seabed Authority, are still ongoing.
For the scientists behind the Arctic expedition, the priority is to gather evidence before any decision is made. Their samples and footage will be analysed in the coming months, with findings expected to feed into proposals for marine protected areas in Norwegian waters.
Tuesday, June 09, 2026
BAN DEEP SEA MINING
China Expands Undersea Mapping To Gain Strategic Advantage And Secure Critical Resources – Analysis
Chinese survey ship Bei Dao 996 in an undated photo. (Jessn Ocean Equipment, RFA)
China is carrying out an expansive effort to strengthen its position across the world’s oceans, driven by both strategic military interests and the search for critical seabed resources. Recent investigations and maritime tracking data indicate that Beijing has deployed a broad network of underwater mapping and surveillance activities spanning the Pacific, Indian, and Arctic oceans. Analysts say the information collected could provide significant advantage in future maritime conflicts, particularly in submarine operations and undersea warfare.
A Reuters report indicates that the data being gathered includes detailed information on seabed conditions, underwater terrain, and oceanographic patterns that could support submarine navigation, underwater surveillance, and the identification of critical undersea infrastructure such as communications cables. Much of this activity is conducted through civilian research vessels, allowing China to expand its maritime data collection while attracting less international scrutiny.
One of the most closely watched examples is the Dong Fang Hong 3, operated by the Ocean University of China. During 2024 and 2025, the vessel traveled through waters near Taiwan, Guam, and strategic areas of the Indian Ocean. Although officially assigned to sediment and climate research, scientific publications linked to the vessel also documented extensive deep-sea mapping operations.
The information collected could improve China’s ability to operate submarines more effectively while enhancing its capacity to detect the presence of adversary vessels. “We know that China is mapping the seabed and fishery resources. Many vessels in its fishing fleet engage in activities beyond fishing, even serving as intelligence tools and paramilitary forces,” Argentine marine conservation specialist Milko Schvartzman told Diálogo.
According to Schvartzman, these activities are not new. In the South Atlantic, Chinese vessels have been linked to suspected unauthorized mapping activity near Argentina’s continental shelf, in addition to previous illegal fishing incidents involving Chinese fleets in the region. Critical minerals on the ocean floor
China’s maritime ambitions extend beyond military considerations. Beijing is also seeking to secure access to strategic minerals found on the ocean floor — resources considered essential for advanced technology, renewable energy systems, and defense industries.
A joint investigation by CNN and Mongabay found that several Chinese vessels, publicly identified as fishing or scientific research ships, displayed operational patterns consistent with mineral exploration activities. Over the past five years, investigators tracked eight Chinese vessels linked to deep-sea mining exploration. According to the report, only 6 percent of their time at sea was spent within officially authorized exploration zones.
The investigation also documented cases in which vessels disabled their Automatic Identification System (AIS) to avoid detection. While these activities do not by themselves prove military involvement, analysts say they reflect China’s broader civil-military fusion strategy, which integrate civilian, scientific, and commercial capabilities into long-term national strategic objectives.
China currently holds or is linked to five of the 31 exploration contracts granted by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the United Nations-affiliated body responsible for regulating mineral-related activities in international seabed areas. These contracts involve access to resources such as cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements — minerals increasingly important for battery production, electronics, advanced manufacturing, and military technologies.
“Strategic minerals such as manganese, essential for ferroalloys and special steels, can be found on the ocean floor,” civil engineer and metallurgy consultant Sergio Paredes told Diálogo. “Furthermore, copper, whose scarcity threatens to become a bottleneck for electromobility, is also found in these depths.” Implications for Latin America
Latin America is not immune to these developments. In parts of the Southeast Pacific, including areas off the coast of Chile, studies have identified seabed mineral potential involving copper, manganese, and other strategic resources. Although large-scale extraction remains technologically complex and environmentally controversial, China continues investing heavily in technologies needed to expand deep-sea mining capabilities.
Argentina’s continental shelf has also drawn attention because of its relatively accessible maritime geography and the growing presence of Chinese distant-water fleets in the South Atlantic. Paredes warn that limited regulatory frameworks and challenging maritime oversight could create opportunities for unauthorized exploration or resource exploitation activities by China in the future.
Security experts also warn that seabed mapping activities could have implications for maritime domain awareness, the protection of undersea infrastructure, and the security of strategic maritime corridors and communications networks. Dual threat: Scientific and military exploration
The growing body of evidence suggests that many of China’s maritime activities serve both scientific and strategic purposes. Experts say seabed mapping, oceanographic surveys, and the collection of fisheries data can all contribute to a broader effort to strengthen China’s long-term maritime posture.
Analysts also note that some operations continue to raise legal and sovereign concerns. As Schvartzman explained, conducting scientific studies or resource-related surveys in areas linked to another country’s maritime jurisdiction without authorization remains highly controversial.
For many governments and maritime-security specialists, the concern extends beyond environmental impact or commercial competition. What appears to be civilian scientific research may also be helping lay the groundwork for future geopolitical and military competition beneath the world’s oceans.
About Diálogo Américas Diálogo Américas is a professional magazine published by U.S. Southern Command as an international forum for security issues in Latin America. View all posts by Diálogo Américas →
Saturday, June 06, 2026
BAN DEEP SEA MINING & TRAWLING
Researchers reveal how supergiant deep-sea isopods survive years without food
The supergiant bathynomid is a deep-sea isopod famous for surviving more than five years without food. Despite residing in an extremely low-nutrient habitat, these organisms exhibit pronounced body gigantism, a trait that requires substantial energy. This raises an energy paradox: How do these apparently energy-hungry isopods sustain their enormous size given the sporadic availability of food in the deep sea?
To answer this question, a research team from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has uncovered the mechanisms enabling these deep-sea supergiants to thrive under extreme nutritional constraints.
By combining multi-omics analyses with functional assays, the researchers discovered that deep-sea isopods have a dual survival strategy to cope with nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) conditions: an enlarged stomach that can store large amounts of food and an extremely low basal metabolic rate (BMR).
For their study, the researchers analyzed two isopod species from different depths: Bathynomus jamesi from approximately 898 meters and Bathynomus doederleini from around 300 meters. By integrating comparative genomics with morphological, physiological, behavioral, and metagenomic analyses, they revealed a strategy of "increasing revenue and reducing expenditure" for coping with food-limited conditions.
The stomach of deep-sea isopods occupies about two-thirds of their entire body, far larger than that of their shallower-water or intertidal relatives. When fully filled with food, the stomach contains a finely ground, extensively digested, mud-like mixture that involves a relatively low proportion of digestive bacteria such as Firmicutes. Instead, it is enriched with Chlamydiae, which are associated with lipid storage. These features suggest that deep-sea isopods may consume large amounts of food when feeding opportunities arise and then drastically reduce their BMR, allowing these food reserves to be digested and utilized over extended periods.
The researchers also identified a horizontally transferred gene, ND1, that originated from an exogenous symbiotic bacterium and was subsequently integrated into the isopod genome. This gene, which is homologous to a component of Complex I in the electron transport chain, is hypothesized to play a critical role in energy metabolism. As an exogenously acquired gene, ND1 appears to overcome certain limitations of horizontal gene transfer by being able to undergo post-transfer duplication and achieve ultra-high expression.
Moreover, the researchers discovered a gene expression regulation mechanism in deep-sea isopods that achieves "high efficiency, energy conservation, and precise control" via epigenetic modification of histones. The ultra-high expression of ND1 is specifically regulated by histone acetylation.
To test the gene's function, the researchers introduced ND1 into zebrafish, nematodes, and human 293T cells. The results showed that ND1 accelerated energy metabolism at normal temperatures, making the organisms less tolerant of starvation. However, under low-temperature conditions (which simulate the deep-sea environment), ND1 knock-in effectively suppressed energy metabolism and reduced mitochondrial activity. This increased starvation tolerance in zebrafish by 37%.
These results indicate that ND1 modulates the mitochondrial metabolic network by fine-tuning the degree of metabolic depression, thereby resolving the fundamental trade-off between the high energy demand of gigantism and the need for metabolic suppression in extreme environments.
This study reveals for the first time a novel evolutionary strategy in which deep‑sea megafauna reprogram their energy allocation through a combination of horizontal gene transfer and epigenetic optimization.
"Our work not only deciphers the mystery of ultra-long starvation tolerance in deep-sea isopods," said YUAN Jianbo, first author of the study, "but also provides an important paradigm for understanding how life balances growth and survival in extreme environments."
Mechanism diagram showing the survival strategy and horizontally acquired energy metabolism-related gene in reprogramming energy allocation in deep-sea isopods
Deep-sea megafauna co-opts microbial energy metabolism genes to withstand ultra-long starvation
Article Publication Date
5-Jun-2026
Friday, May 29, 2026
BAN DEEP SEA MINING
2,315 Meters Under the Sea, Greenpeace Stages Deepest Protest in World History
“By safeguarding these deep-sea ecosystems within a global network of ocean sanctuaries and establishing a moratorium on deep sea mining, we can create a resilient safety net for marine life, and protect the health of our global oceans for generations to come.”
Aided by a sophisticated underwater submersible, activists with Greenpeace on Wednesday set a world record for the deepest protest ever by displaying a banner 1.4 miles beneath the surface of the Arctic Ocean to oppose industrial deep-sea mining and urging protection of the world’s oceans.
According to the international environmental group, the message “LISTEN TO THE SCIENCE!” was displayed 2,315 meters below sea level using a remotely operated vehicle called ‘ROV Holly.’
Executed during a deep-water survey expedition between Iceland and the island of Svalbard, the robotic hand of the submersible held up the sign in front of a hydrothermal vent field known as Loki’s Castle, which is located along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge that separates the Arctic Ocean’s Greenland Sea from the Norwegian Sea.
“This marks the deepest banner protest in history, to speak for ecosystems that have no voice of their own,” said Dr. Sandra Schöttner, chief scientist for the Deep Arctic Expedition at Greenpeace International. “World leaders have already promised to protect 30 percent of the oceans, now they must listen to the science and actually do it. We cannot meet our global goals if we also allow industrial exploitation of unexplored and vulnerable ecosystems in the deep sea. It is high time that leaders keep their promises and give the oceans a chance to recover.”
The Arctic Mid Ocean Arctic Ridge—which the group characterized as “one of Earth’s least known wildernesses”—goes down to depths of up to 3000 meters. The expedition and historic protest is part of a Greenpeace campaign that is calling for the deep-sea world of hydrothermal vents like Loki’s Castle and others, as well as seamounts and the “extraordinary creatures” that live in such ecosystems to be protected with the establishment of a network of marine sanctuaries.
“By safeguarding these deep-sea ecosystems within a global network of ocean sanctuaries and establishing a moratorium on deep sea mining,” said Dr. Schöttner, “we can create a resilient safety net for marine life, and protect the health of our global oceans for generations to come.”
Efforts to ban deep-sea mining by environmentalists, ocean stewards, and conservationists were stymied in the US with an executive order last year issued by President Donald Trump which seeks to bolster and expand the practice by the mining industry.
Trump was condemned for the move, which Greenpeace at the time called “an insult to multilateralism” due to its sidestepping of a UN-backed process designed to protect the oceans, and “a slap in the face to all the countries and millions of people around the world who oppose this dangerous industry.”
Trump’s failures, however, have been counteracted at some level by other nations who have paused or put stronger protections in place when it comes to deep-sea mining. In December, Norway paused controversial plans to issue a fresh round of drilling and mining license beneath undersea areas it controls.
As part of its ongoing campaign to curb the destructive practice, Greenpeace is calling on world leaders to honor existing global climate targets, implement the UN Ocean Treaty to protect 30% of the global ocean by 2030, and establish an immediate moratorium on deep-sea mining.
“There is no version of seabed mining that is sustainable or safe,” Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee said last year. “Alongside our allies who want to protect the ocean for future generations, we will continue to say a loud and bold no to miners who want to strip the seafloor for their profit.”
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
BAN DEEP SEA MINING
U.S. Interest In Seabed Mining In International Waters: Background And Recent Developments – Analysis
Proposed Machinery and Technology for Collecting Seabed Minerals. Credit: CRS
April 14, 2026 By Caitlin Keating-Bitonti The Congressional Research Service (CRS)
In 1980, Congress passed the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA; 30 U.S.C. §§1401 et seq.) as an interim measure to allow the United States to proceed with seabed mining activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) until an international regime was in place (i.e., the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]). DSHMRA established a framework for authorizing U.S. citizens (e.g., individuals, corporations) to explore for and recover minerals from the seabed in ABNJ. In general, exploration means the at-sea observation, evaluation, and taking of seabed minerals as needed to design and test mining equipment, and commercial recovery means the actual at-sea mining and processing of seabed minerals for the primary purpose of commercial use (30 U.S.C. §1403).
On April 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14285, “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources,” which directed certain federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to advance seabed mining activities as part of a broader national effort to secure reliable supplies of critical minerals. This In Focus discusses the actions of NOAA and U.S. companies related to seabed mining in ABNJ as well as congressional interest in the topic. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and its regulation of mineral-related activities is beyond the scope of this In Focus.
UNCLOS and the International Seabed Authority
UNCLOS was adopted in 1982, establishing a comprehensive international legal framework to govern activities related to the global ocean, including seabed mining. In 1994, the Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (commonly known as the 1994 Agreement) substantially modified the seabed mining provisions of UNCLOS to address concerns held by many industrialized nations. After the adoption of the 1994 Agreement, UNCLOS received the necessary number of signatories for UNCLOS to enter into force. The United States is not a party to UNCLOS or the 1994 Agreement.
UNCLOS also established the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous organization that regulates parties to UNCLOS conducting mineral-related activities in ABNJ. The ISA came into existence with the adoption of the 1994 Agreement and became fully operational in 1996. The United States participates as an observer state in the ISA but, as a nonparty, has no vote in ISA business and cannot apply for or obtain a contract for seabed mining exploration or exploitation through the ISA. To date, the ISA has issued 31 exploration contracts, of which 17 are located in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The CCZ is a 1.7-million-square-mile area of the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean that is estimated to contain more cobalt, manganese, and nickel—identified by the U.S. Geological Survey as critical minerals—than all known land deposits combined. The ISA is working toward finalizing exploitation regulations and has not issued any exploitation contracts (DSHMRA uses the term commercial recovery permits, which would serve a similar purpose to exploitation contracts issued by ISA).
Exploration Licenses Issued by NOAA
DSHMRA authorized the NOAA administrator to issue exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits to U.S. citizens for seabed mining activities in ABNJ (30 U.S.C. §1412). In 1984, NOAA issued exploration licenses for four sites located in the CCZ. NOAA issued exploration licenses to four U.S. mining consortia, three of which were multinational private sector consortia with participating American companies. NOAA issued the following:USA-1 to Ocean Minerals Company, comprising Cyprus Minerals and Lockheed Martin Corporation (American companies); USA-2 to Ocean Management Inc., comprising Schlumberger Technology (an American company) and Canadian, German, and Japanese companies; USA-3 to Ocean Mining Associates, comprising Essex Minerals Co. and Sun Ocean Ventures, Inc. (American companies) and Belgian and Italian companies; and USA-4 to Kennecott Consortium, comprising Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (an American company) and British, Canadian, and Japanese companies.
NOAA issued these licenses 10 years before UNCLOS entered into force and 12 years before the ISA became operational. NOAA has not issued exploration licenses since 1984. The agency has approved extension requests following the initial 10-year periods of the licenses. A license can be extended for five-year periods (30 U.S.C. §1417(a)). NOAA has not issued any commercial recovery permits.
Two of the four exploration licenses issued by NOAA (USA-2 and USA-3) were relinquished in the late 1990s (64 Federal Register [FR] 3563). USA-1 and USA-4 remain the only active exploration licenses issued by NOAA pursuant to DSHMRA. Lockheed Martin holds both licenses. It became the sole holder of the licenses by different means. In 1993, Kennecott Consortium relinquished USA-4 to NOAA (58 FR 33933). Ocean Minerals Company, the consortium including Lockheed Martin, applied for USA-4 (58 FR 34782), and NOAA issued the license in 1994 (59 FR 66942). In 1995, Cyprus Minerals withdrew from Ocean Minerals Company, leaving Lockheed Martin as the sole company overseeing USA-1 and USA-4.
USA-1 and USA-4 are expected to remain in effect through June 2, 2027 (87 FR 52743). In 2021, the ISA designated an area of the CCZ that partially overlaps with USA-1 as an Area of Particular Environmental Interest. The designation precludes UNCLOS parties from seabed mining activities in the area. This action appears to question whether NOAA-issued exploration licenses have international recognition. Because the United States is not a party to UNCLOS, any future NOAA-issued licenses and permits that may (or may not) overlap with ISA designations could have similar uncertainty. According to a 2017 NOAA notice, “any rights a U.S. company may have domestically are not secured internationally.”
Lockheed Martin may submit an extension request to NOAA at least six months prior to June 2, 2027, to retain USA-1 and USA-4. If the licenses are not extended, U.S. entities can request NOAA transfer USA-1 and/or USA-4, pursuant to 15 C.F.R. §970.516.
Pending Applications to NOAA
E.O. 14285 directed NOAA, in consultation with the Departments of State and the Interior, to expedite the process for reviewing and issuing licenses and permits under DSHMRA, among other actions. NOAA reportedly has received “over 10 applications” since the E.O. was issued. Once NOAA determines an application to be fully compliant with DSHMRA, the agency will publish a notice in the Federal Register (15 C.F.R. §970.212 and 15 C.F.R. §971.212). As of the date of this publication, NOAA has determined that four applications are fully compliant with DSHMRA (90 FR 60064 and 91 FR 13822): The Metal Company’s (TMC’s) U.S. subsidiary, TMC USA, submitted two exploration license applications (A and B). TMC, a Canadian company, has two other foreign subsidiaries: Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML). Through sponsorships with Nauru and Tonga (both UNCLOS parties), NORI and TOML each hold one ISA exploration contract in the CCZ. TMC USA’s applications to NOAA overlap with portions of Nauru’s and Tonga’s respective ISA exploration contract areas. American Metal Resources (AMR) submitted one exploration license application. It overlaps with some ISA-designated reserved areas in the CCZ as well as a portion of another company’s application to NOAA. SeaX (a subsidiary of AMR) submitted one exploration license application. It overlaps with some ISA-designated reserved areas in the CCZ.
A fully compliant application does not mean an application will be certified and that a license or permit will be issued.
On January 21, 2026, NOAA issued a final rule that revised its seabed mining regulations to include a “consolidated license and permit application process in which applicants could meet both exploration license requirements, to establish priority of right, and permit requirements simultaneously” (91 FR 2642). The final rule is reflected in 15 C.F.R. §971.214. On January 22, 2026, TMC USA submitted a consolidated application, and on March 9, 2026, the company announced that NOAA determined the application to be in substantial compliance.
Congress may continue to consider seabed mining issues in the context of E.O. 14285 and U.S. industry interest in acquiring NOAA exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits for seabed mining in ABNJ. Some Members have introduced legislation in the 119th Congress that would codify E.O. 14285 (e.g., H.R. 3803) or mandate that certain federal entities act on aspects of the E.O. (e.g., H.R. 4018, S. 2860). These bills reiterate that “the United States faces unprecedented economic and national security challenges in securing reliable supplies of critical minerals independent of foreign adversary control” as stated in the E.O. Some Members have questioned how seabed mining could address these challenges given no commercial-scale processing facilities for seabed minerals exist. Some experts contend that “much more needs to be done before the seabed can help secure America’s supply chains.”
The three bills also would direct NOAA to expedite the authorization of U.S. seabed mining activities in ABNJ under DSHMRA. According to the ISA, however, authorization of seabed mining activities outside the UNCLOS framework (e.g., via DSHMRA) “may incur legal, diplomatic, economic, security, financial and reputational risks.” Congress may weigh in on the extent to which the issuance of new NOAA licenses and permits might present geopolitical disagreements. Views on the potential for such disagreements vary. While the four fully compliant applications overlap with ISA-designated areas, TMC, AMR, and SeaX each stated in their applications to NOAA that they do not anticipate any conflicts. In contrast, the Secretary-General of the ISA stated that “any unilateral action … sets a dangerous precedent that could destabilize the entire system of global ocean governance.”
U.S. accession to UNCLOS may reduce the potential for geopolitical disagreements, at the cost of replacing U.S. government decisionmaking with that of an international body. Weighing the advantages and disadvantages of giving U.S. entities access to ISA contracts through U.S. accession to UNCLOS is an ongoing issue for Congress. S.Res. 331 calls for the Senate to take up UNCLOS. Some experts argue the United States has the authority to mine ABNJ.
Other Members have introduced legislation (H.R. 664) to prohibit NOAA from authorizing seabed mining activities in ABNJ until more is known about its environmental impacts. Separately, H.R. 663 would instruct the President to call for an international seabed mining moratorium until the ISA adopts a regulatory framework. As of April 2026, 40 countries have announced their opposition to deep-seabed mining.
About the author: Caitlin Keating-Bitonti, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for nearly a century.
A journey to the bottom of the ocean, beneath Paris’s skyscrapers
An interactive exhibition underneath the streets of Paris's La Défense business district reveals another hidden world – that of the darkest depths of the ocean. Bringing together art and science, it shows the beauty and vulnerability of Earth's final frontier.
Beneath the Grande Arche de la Défense, in Paris’s business district, visitors equipped with headphones and pocket torches are plunged into darkness.
The "Under the Horizon" exhibition sees four artists take over this hidden urban space to bring to life another hidden world – that of the depths of the ocean.
Covering 70 percent of the Earth's surface, oceans provide more than half our oxygen and absorb excess heat caused by climate change. Home to a hive of microscopic activity, their darkest depths, reaching 2,000 metres beneath the surface, remain largely unexplored.
As visitors enter the exhibition, a high-pitched crackling noise can be heard. These are translations of "conversations" of phytoplankton, captured by sound designer Antoine Bertin.
These tiny micro-organisms constantly send and receive chemical "messages" called metabolites, measured by biologists.
Meanwhile in the "midnight zone", artist Ugo Schiavi explores what forms human pollution might take if left to accumulate in the depths of the ocean.
His hybrid, mutant sculptures made of recycled items lurch out from the gloom, inspired by the strange creatures that inhabit this realm.
Beyond a creative interpretation, Schiavi raises the issue of the vulnerability of this part of the ocean – which contains coveted minerals including nickel, cobalt and copper, which are crucial to renewable energy technology.
Researchers and environmentalists have long warned that deep-sea diving risks destroying habitats and species that are little understood, and could upset delicate processes in the ocean that affect climate change.
Nearby, Jérémie Brugidou’s sculptures use bioluminescence produced by Phosphorus ANT-2200, a deep-sea bacteria. This form of light is used by organisms to attract prey, send signals and provide camouflage.
It also provides important information for scientific research. Molecules and proteins from bioluminescent and fluorescent species have enabled advances in imaging, molecular biology and physiology.
After visiting the darkest parts of the ocean, visitors are led into a reproduction of a sea cave, where they can make an offering to the sea goddess Yemaya, a major deity in the West African Yoruba religion.
Here, artist Shivay La Multiple has created a bubble – "somewhere in between one universe and another" – where science meets spirituality.
She says the ocean is linked to rituals in many places, as well as having sustained livelihoods in cultures across the world since the beginning of time.
"Where I grew up has definitely had an influence on my work. I was lulled by the ocean and inspired by what was around me," she told RFI, pointing to her childhood in Kanaky-New Caledonia, one of France’s overseas territories.
"These practices make us feel reassured, they help up explain the unexplainable," she says of the shrine to Yemaya, adorned with shells and flowers.
The exhibition is part of a wider cultural plan to bring art and environmental issues to this urban area, Noellie Faustino, director of events for La Défense, told RFI.
It’s important to show that there’s "life outside of the office", she says, adding that this can be found in unexpected places – such as the hidden space beneath the la Grande Arche.
"By offering access to normally inaccessible spaces, it sparks curiosity and allows for the creation of unique exhibitions."
Faustino added that La Défense has put in place measures to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2030, including standards for construction and the way public spaces are developed.
The "Takis" sculpture in La Défense, Paris's business district.
"We are currently creating a park at the Esplanade, right in the heart of the business district. It will be the first park in France built on a concrete slab, allowing users to enjoy tree-lined public spaces with grass."
As well as transforming the public space visually, Faustino says the park will reduce heat-related issues.
For Lauranne Germond, co-curator of "Under the Horizon" La Défense is the perfect setting to show the contrast between two very different worlds.
"On the surface of La Défense, activity and efficiency reign. There's a frenetic pace of productivity [while the exhibition is] an experience of slowing down, of letting go. It is the idea of letting oneself be carried away, of letting oneself float."
What can be found in the abyss, thousands of metres below the surface of the ocean? In the interactive exhibition "Under the Horizon" (Sous l'horizon), four artists merge science and imagination to explore the mysteries of the deep, all while raising awareness of this fragile environment. RFI took the plunge into a secret underground space in Paris's business district to find out more.
Sunday, April 12, 2026
BAN DEEP SEA MINING
The Metals Royalty debuts on Nasdaq with deep-sea bet
The Metals Royalty Company Inc. (TMCR) made its public market debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, marking a significant milestone for deep-sea mining finance. The company holds a crucial royalty interest in The Metals Company's (TMC) NORI project in the Pacific Ocean, which aims to extract polymetallic nodules rich in nickel, cobalt, and copper – essential battery metals. This move introduces a proven financing model into the nascent and high-potential deep-sea mining sector, addressing the accelerating global demand for critical minerals.
The Metals Royalty Company Debuts on Nasdaq, Charting a Course for Deep-Sea Mining Finance
In a significant development for the global mining investment landscape, The Metals Royalty Company Inc. (TMCR) commenced trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. This public debut under the ticker symbol TMCR signals the arrival of a distinctive financing model applied to the burgeoning, yet complex, realm of deep-sea mining. The company's core asset is a royalty on the pioneering NORI project in the Pacific Ocean, operated by The Metals Company (TMC), an entity also listed on Nasdaq under TMCWW. This strategic entry into public markets is closely watched by industry analysts and investors, as it represents an early, tangible step towards monetizing deep-sea mineral resources crucial for the accelerating demand for battery metals.
A Novel Financing Model for a New Frontier
Royalty companies have long been an integral part of the terrestrial mining sector, providing upfront capital to developers in exchange for a percentage of future production or revenue from a mine. This model offers investors exposure to commodity prices with lower operating risk, while providing mining companies with non-dilutive financing. The Metals Royalty Company's Nasdaq listing, as explained by Chief Executive Officer Brian Paes-Braga in an interview with MINING.COM’s Devan Murugan, explores how this established financing mechanism can translate effectively to the unique challenges and opportunities presented by offshore resource extraction.
The debut of TMCR suggests a growing confidence among some parts of the investment community in the long-term viability of deep-sea mining. While the sector is acknowledged to be "still defining its path to production," as noted by Paes-Braga, securing predictable funding through royalty streams can de-risk projects for operators like TMC. For investors, it offers a diversified exposure to critical minerals without direct involvement in the operational complexities or the substantial capital expenditures typically associated with developing new mines, be they on land or underwater.
The NORI Project: Targeting Polymetallic Nodules
At the heart of The Metals Royalty Company's investment strategy is its royalty interest in the NORI project. This initiative, spearheaded by The Metals Company (TMC), focuses on the extraction of polymetallic nodules from the abyssal plains of the Pacific Ocean. These potato-sized concretions, formed over millions of years, lie on the seafloor and are rich in a suite of valuable metals. Specifically, the NORI project targets nodules containing economically significant quantities of:
Nickel: A primary component in high-energy density lithium-ion batteries.
Cobalt: Valued for its role in enhancing battery performance and stability.
Copper: An essential metal for electrical conductivity, used extensively in wiring and power transmission, including in electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure.
The presence of these critical battery metals in polymetallic nodules makes deep-sea deposits particularly attractive amid forecasts of escalating demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage solutions. As terrestrial deposits face increasing geological, logistical, and geopolitical challenges, deep-sea resources are viewed by proponents as a potential new frontier for securing vital raw material supplies.
The Accelerating Demand for Battery Metals
The timing of TMCR's public offering coincides with an unprecedented surge in global demand for battery metals. Governments worldwide are committing to decarbonization targets, accelerating the transition to electric vehicles and investing heavily in grid-scale energy storage. This transition is inherently metal-intensive, placing immense pressure on existing supply chains for nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper.
Traditional mining operations, while expanding, often face lengthy permitting processes, community resistance, and diminishing ore grades. The search for alternative, reliable sources of these strategic minerals has intensified, pushing exploration efforts into less conventional environments, including the deep ocean. Deep-sea mining, despite its nascent stage, is positioned by its advocates as a potential solution to diversify supply sources and meet the projected demand deficits that current terrestrial production may struggle to satisfy. For investors in TMCR, the bet is not just on the NORI project's success, but on the enduring and growing need for its target commodities.
Uncertainty and the Path to Production
Despite the excitement surrounding deep-sea minerals, the route to full-scale commercial production remains fraught with considerable uncertainty. The sector is navigating a complex interplay of engineering challenges, evolving environmental regulations, and significant public scrutiny. Key areas of concern and development include:
Technological Readiness: Developing and deploying extraction and processing technologies capable of operating efficiently and reliably kilometers beneath the ocean surface is a monumental task. The harsh subsea environment, coupled with the need for precise collection and vertical transport systems, requires continuous innovation.
Environmental Impact: Critics raise serious concerns about the potential ecological damage deep-sea mining could inflict on fragile and unique abyssal ecosystems. Understanding and mitigating these impacts are paramount, driving extensive scientific research and public debate.
Regulatory Frameworks: International bodies, such as the International Seabed Authority (ISA), are still in the process of finalizing comprehensive regulations for commercial deep-sea mining in international waters. The pace and content of these regulations will significantly influence the sector's operational timelines and economic viability.
Economic Viability: The capital intensity of developing deep-sea mining operations means that projects must demonstrate robust economic returns to attract sustained investment. The ability to process polymetallic nodules efficiently and cost-effectively, followed by metallurgical extraction on land, will be critical.
Brian Paes-Braga's acknowledgment that the sector is "still defining its path to production" underscores these inherent challenges. For investors in The Metals Royalty Company, evaluating this investment involves weighing the significant future demand for critical minerals against these developmental and regulatory hurdles. The royalty model, by its nature, hedges some of this risk by focusing on a percentage of future revenue rather than direct operational success, but it still relies on eventual successful production.
Implications for the Mining Industry and Future Investment
The public listing of The Metals Royalty Company is more than just a financing event; it is a bellwether for the evolving landscape of global resource extraction. It signifies that:
Deep-Sea Mining is Gaining Traction: While controversial, deep-sea mining is undeniably attracting serious capital and public market attention, signaling its transition from a purely speculative concept to a tangible investment opportunity.
Diversification of Supply Chains: The move highlights the industry's continuous quest for new mineral sources to diversify supply chains, which have proven vulnerable to geopolitical tensions and logistical disruptions in recent years.
Innovation in Mining Finance: The application of the royalty model to such a nascent, high-potential sector demonstrates the adaptability and resilience of mining finance structures to support pioneering ventures.
As the global economy continues its push towards electrification and sustainable technologies, the strategic importance of critical minerals will only grow. Companies like TMCR are positioning themselves at the cutting edge of this demand, providing a unique avenue for investors seeking exposure to the next generation of mineral supply. Whether deep-sea mining can indeed deliver the returns anticipated by its proponents will depend on overcoming the technical, environmental, and regulatory hurdles that lie ahead. Nevertheless, The Metals Royalty Company's Nasdaq debut marks an undeniable and fascinating chapter in the ongoing story of global mineral resource development. The industry will be watching closely to see if this deep-sea bet pays off for shareholders and helps secure the vital resources of tomorrow.
The Metals Royalty Nasdaq debut: deep-sea nodule economics for mine financiers
The Metals Royalty Company has listed on Nasdaq under ticker TMCR, offering investors a royalty exposure to TMC’s NORI deep-sea polymetallic nodule project in the Pacific Ocean targeting nickel, cobalt and copper. Chief executive Brian Paes-Braga positions the structure as a conventional mining royalty model applied offshore, with returns linked to future production from nodules on the Clarion-Clipperton-type seabed rather than equity in TMC (NASDAQ: TMCWW). For mining financiers and project developers, the move signals growing capital-market appetite for seabed resource plays despite unresolved regulatory and production-risk questions.
Technical Brief
Deep-sea nodules targeted contain nickel, cobalt and copper, aligning with battery and energy-transition demand profiles.
Our Take
TMC’s NORI project has already driven a $131 million increase in royalty liabilities, according to our 27 March 2026 coverage, signalling that The Metals Royalty Company’s deep-sea exposure is tied to a highly leveraged asset whose economics are very sensitive to permitting and valuation assumptions.
The recent NOAA ruling on TMC’s consolidated exploration and commercial recovery permit application in the Pacific Ocean means US regulatory outcomes will heavily influence the risk profile of this Nasdaq-listed royalty vehicle, even though the underlying critical minerals are destined for global battery supply chains.
Nickel and cobalt pieces in our database are still dominated by land-based projects, so this deep-sea royalty listing stands out as one of the few financing plays explicitly linked to polymetallic nodules, which may attract investors comfortable with higher ESG and regulatory uncertainty in exchange for potential long-life battery metals optionality
The merged firm will span the Cook Islands zone and US-regulated international waters with global reach. (Image courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration.)
American Ocean Minerals Corp. is merging with Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ: OMEX) in a reverse takeover that will create a roughly $1 billion deep-sea mining company.
The all-stock transaction includes more than $150 million in private placement financing from institutional and strategic investors, alongside a $75 million pre-public raise completed in February by American Ocean Minerals.
The combined company will retain the American Ocean Minerals name and trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol AOMC, pending shareholder approval. Former Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese will serve as chairman, with capital markets veteran Mark Justh as chief executive officer.
“AOMC will be positioned to be a reliable, long-term supplier for American re-industrialization,” Albanese said in a statement. “We are taking a differentiated, responsible approach to the research and development of deep-sea resources. The work over the past decade has set a high standard for advancing the industry responsibly, and we are proud to play a role in maintaining that standard.”
Critical minerals push
The deal comes as the US and its allies push to secure alternative sources of critical minerals used in batteries, manufacturing and defence, amid growing concern over concentrated global supply.
American Ocean Minerals is building a portfolio across the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone and US-regulated international waters, including the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and the Penrhyn Basin, with interests in two licensed exploration projects in the Pacific.
In US-regulated waters, the company has met compliance requirements for two exploration applications under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, covering more than 1.4 billion tonnes of inferred resources.
The focus is on polymetallic nodules containing nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, iron and rare earth elements, which are critical to electrification, steelmaking and energy storage.
Together, the assets represent billions of tonnes of mineral resources and position the company to advance toward prefeasibility and environmental studies as regulatory clarity improves.
