"China’s push into deep-sea mining gathers speed" 5 August, 2024

China is playing an increasingly important role in the policy and practice of this deep-sea push. Experts have told Dialogue Earth that Chinese companies may not wish to mine imminently but are positioning themselves at the head of the future race to do so...

two Chinese state-owned enterprises...China Minmetals and BPHD (Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Corporation) are preparing to conduct trials of mining vehicles in their Pacific exploration zones next year...Both companies state they will collect environmental data alongside the equipment trials. BPHD says the research conducted during the trial could provide “a basis for formulating regulations for future deep-sea mining activities and the development of environmentally friendly technologies.” Dialogue Earth contacted the companies but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Many scientists fear the effect mining will have on deep-sea ecosystems that remain understudied...While progress has been made in recent years on developing mining equipment in China, Fan says he hasn’t noticed equivalent headway in working out environmental impacts...

...the rapid advance of deep-sea mining in China is even more motivated by the progress made by North American and European companies, especially The Metals Company. This Canada-based outfit recovered 3,000 tonnes of nodules from the seafloor in test runs in 2022...

Countries have yet to agree on a regulation for mining of the international seabed...Some scientists and environmentalists are seriously concerned that starting it [deep-sea mining] without proper regulations and understanding of its environmental consequences would cause irreversible damage to deep-sea ecosystems...