SUPPLY CHAIN & OPERATIONS “ The potential impact of mining on deepsea biodiversity , its habitats and fisheries are still being studied , and experts have questioned the idea that environmental impacts of mining in the deep-sea can be mitigated in the same way as those on land ”
WINNE YEH , PLATFORM ACCELERATION LEAD , WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
In the face of this uncertainty , the European Parliament , the prime ministers of Fiji , Vanuatu , Papua New Guinea and more than 80 organisations have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining until and unless a set of precautionary criteria are fulfilled .
Harvesting minerals from the seafloor Deep-sea mining companies are focused on harvesting polymetallic nodules found in the mud layers of the seafloor , which are also rich in copper and rare earth minerals . Exploration of the seafloor in international waters is administered by the International Seabed Authority ( ISA ) as mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ). In July 2011 , The Metals Company ( formerly DeepGreen ), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc . ( NORI ), was granted a 15-year exploration contract for the NORI Project
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