Current status of deep sea mining

Current status of deep sea mining
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As the demand for metals and minerals rise, many corporations and countries now seek to venture into deep sea mining. Driven by commercial interests many corporations now see exploration of the deep ocean floor as the next frontier (MacDonald & Welsch, 2012). Nonetheless, deep sea mining is not an easy task and requires more technological innovations to facilitate this commercial venture. The process provides huge commercial potential, but there are worries that disturbing the ocean floor might lead to ecological damage to oceans and seas. Essentially, development of better technology for deep sea exploration and the projection of vast mineral deposits in ocean floors have increased interest in deep sea mining.
The main reason for renewed interest in deep sea mining is the potential economic effects of mineral mining. Scientists suppose that there are vast minerals underneath the oceans and mining companies would want a viable industry (Miner, 2013). Because of the huge size of mineral deposits, deep sea mining may be more profitable in the future than land mining. Polymetallic nodules and sulfide deposits have the most potential for mining companies, and could increase investments in many developing countries, with other metals including copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese providing vast potential for improving the economic outlook of many countries. Seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) are sulfur base metals that have deposits of various metals, and with the rise in metal prices it is feasible to go ahead with deep sea mining (Hoagland et al., 2010).
However, deep sea mining is controversial owing to its impact on the environment. There is disagreement on whether there is sustainable mining as advocated by mining companies as the long -term effects of environmental degradation could be irreversible. In any case, many of the species under sea have not been identified and mining harms marine environment and may lead to the extinction of many species (Greenpeace, 2013). Additionally, the chemical and biological processes that affect sea life, differ considerably from those of land and the...