Spring 2026

Critical Minerals: A Deep Dive to the Ocean Floor

By William Dowd, Ph.D.

The rapid evolution of modern technology has heightened global demand for raw materials needed to manufacture electronic devices that have become interwoven with daily life.  Critical minerals are essential building blocks of many electronic devices, as well as the digital and energy infrastructure that supports them; as usage grows, the need for critical minerals will likely rise in parallel.  The need for alternative resources to supplement materials produced by land-based mining has led governments and private entities to explore the ocean floor for deposits of manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, silver, gold, and rare earth elements – raw materials that can be used for lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, clean energy technologies, robotics, and personal use electronics.  Although significant legal and environmental hurdles remain, the economic value of deep-sea minerals may drive commercial-scale extraction and production in the coming years.

Polymetallic nodules are one type of seafloor deposit that can be harvested via dredging or non-destructive collectors, and are currently the primary target of deep-sea mining companies because of their high concentrations of manganese, cobalt, nickel, and copper.  However, mining at depths greater than roughly two miles below the ocean surface, where economically viable polymetallic nodules are commonly found, has its challenges.  In particular, it requires specialized collection, vertical transportation, and shipboard equipment to recover these deposits from a highly pressurized environment while minimizing impacts on biological communities on the seafloor.  Nonetheless, large-scale seafloor extraction of polymetallic nodules was demonstrated recently during collection-phase trials at depths approximately 2.5 miles below the ocean’s surface (The Metals Company, 2022).  Based on the results of these and other successful trials in recent years, it appears that deep-sea mining has the potential to expand; however, scientists, environmentalists, and some governments continue to voice concerns over potential, long-term ecological disturbances, not only in proximity to mining sites, but over large distances due to suspended seafloor sediments that may be mobilized into the water column.

Despite extensive oceanographic studies that date back to the Challenger Expedition in 1872, deep-ocean environments and seafloor ecosystems remain largely unexplored.”

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, was developed to safeguard and control activities related to deep-sea mineral resources in international waters (ISA, 2026).  The ISA has issued exploratory deep-sea mining contracts; however, international regulations for commercial mining operations have not been fully established and remain at a standstill, due in part to growing concerns that there is an insufficient understanding of long-term ecological impacts.  Despite extensive oceanographic studies that date back to the Challenger Expedition in 1872, deep-ocean environments and seafloor ecosystems remain largely unexplored.  Although companies that seek to mine the seafloor have collected comprehensive environmental datasets, monitored environmental impacts, and concluded that deep-sea mining would have minimal impacts if the proper precautions are put in place, those in opposition to mining continue to claim that investigations are incomplete.  They argue that the current state of science cannot predict long-term biodiversity loss and habitat instability, and that mining the seafloor should be prohibited because of the potential large-scale, unknown repercussions.

Given the uncertain timeline of the ISA’s international regulations, companies have shifted their focus towards streamlining their commercialization plans by exploring alternative regulatory routes.  Recently, the United States (US) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) opened the doors for companies to apply for exploration licenses and/or commercial recovery permits in areas beyond the national jurisdiction, in accordance with the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (DSHMRA) (NOAA, 2026).  In addition, exploration of deep-sea mineral deposits within national waters, or exclusive economic zones (EEZs), is underway in several countries, including Japan, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and the Cook Islands.  For example, Japan reported recently that a government-led expedition within its EEZ successfully recovered mud rich in critical, rare earth elements from 3.7 miles below the ocean’s surface (Mulkey, 2026).

It has been estimated that deep-sea mineral deposits throughout the world’s oceans may well exceed a total value of tens of trillions of dollars (USD), but it is still unclear as to when large-scale commercial mining will be established successfully.  However, with the demand for critical minerals rising and the success of pilot operations in both national and international waters, we may see a major surge in the global deep-sea mining industry in the coming years.