"Pressure mounts to halt deep-sea mining", 25 June 2021

More than 300 scientists have called for a halt to plans to mine the deep sea, as one of the leading companies hoping to harvest underwater resources prepares to list on the New York Stock exchange. The scientists from 44 countries said allowing deep-sea mining to start would result in a loss of biodiversity and functioning ecosystems that would be “irreversible on multigenerational timescales”. [...] DeepGreen, which will be known as The Metals Company after listing, holds agreements with three Pacific island countries — Tonga, Nauru and Kiribati — to explore 149,543 square kilometres of the ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone. [...] “There is some uncertainty regarding the impact of polymetallic nodule collection on biodiversity in the CCZ seabed which could potentially be more significant than currently expected,” DeepGreen said in its updated filing. [...]