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Media release
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A CSIRO-led research group has developed a way to assess the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining, should authorities permit it to occur. The group provide independent science-based evidence to ensure that in the event deep-sea mining does proceed, it is guided by robust and transparent environmental integrated ecosystem assessments.
The research was commissioned by The Metals Company (TMC) Australia, which is proposing to mine an area of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone. This region is rich in potato-sized, rocky formations, known as polymetallic nodules, which contain critical minerals important for renewable energy technologies, but deep sea regions like this are also one of Earth’s least understood and most vulnerable environments.
Speakers:
- Dr Piers Dunstan, Senior Principal Research Scientist & Team Leader Marine Biodiversity Risk & Management, CSIRO Environment
Briefing recording available here
CSIRO MEDIA STATEMENT
Scientists set global benchmark for environmental oversight of potential deep-sea mining
A science consortium led by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has developed the first environmental management and monitoring frameworks to protect deep sea ecosystems, should the International Seabed Authority (ISA) permit deep-sea mining.
The project was commissioned by The Metals Company Australia Pty Ltd (TMC) and brought together scientists from CSIRO, Griffith University, Museums Victoria, the University of the Sunshine Coast, and Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA and GNS Science).
The scientists’ role was to provide objective and independent science-based evidence so that, if deep-sea mining does proceed, decisions can be guided by robust and transparent environmental assessments.
Importantly, this research is not an Environment Impact Statement or an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan, both of which are requirements of mining proponents under international regulations.
The research focused on the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean – a region being considered for potential mining of polymetallic nodules containing critical minerals like cobalt and nickel, which are viewed as essential for renewable energy technologies.
The scientists analysed data from test mining activities that were carried out in the CCZ by TMC under approval by the ISA.
The integrated ecosystem assessment and ecosystem-based management framework from this research offer important insights into how we can assess impacts and risks to ecosystems in the deep sea that may be potentially exposed to mining.
To address uncertainties and data scarcity in the deep sea, scientists used an ecosystem-based management (EBM) framework that helps assess and manage the environmental risks of deep-sea mining.
This eight-step process includes stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, and ongoing monitoring, and is designed to be adapted as new data becomes available.
Dr Piers Dunstan, Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO, said the project sets a new benchmark for environmental assessment in one of Earth’s most fragile and unknown ecosystems.
“This project helps ensure that if deep-sea mining were to go ahead, there is a clear approach to understand potential risks and impacts to marine life and ecosystems,” Dr Dunstan said.
“There will be impacts at deep-sea mining sites, and our research shows the speed and scale of potential recovery differs across functional groups of species.
“The research also provides guidance for the regulator about how serious harm can be identified and how this can be operationally implemented.
“Continued monitoring of the effects of any mining on marine ecosystems would be crucial to validate these findings.”
Key outcomes of the project include:
- A clear definition of ‘serious harm’ using a traffic light system – green for minor impacts, orange for moderate, and red for major, irreversible damage. This would help regulators know when to act or halt mining operations.
- A full ecosystem model of the CCZ, linking surface waters to the seafloor, which predicts that mining impacts are likely to be localised to the seabed.
- A suite of environmental indicators to monitor changes in biodiversity and ecosystem health, tailored to plausible operational mining scenarios.
- A risk-based management process that assumes full ecosystem loss unless proven otherwise, ensuring a precautionary approach to mining.
- Quantitative estimation of impacts to pelagic ecosystems from metals and risk of impact to deep sea benthic ecosystems.
This research provides decision-makers with trusted, science-based tools to evaluate the environmental risks and viability of deep-sea mining.
It supports the work of the ISA and precautionary approaches to management of the seabed in international waters.
All reports and findings are publicly available. [Link: www.research.csiro.au/dsm]
Read an explainer on this project. [Link to owned article].
Ends
Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Professor Tina Soliman-Hunter is a Professor of Energy and Natural Resources Law at Macquarie University
The CSIRO has assembled an impressive array of experts to undertake what is perhaps the most comprehensive non-partisan research on deep seabed mining to date. The series of studies, including ecosystem modelling, environmental management, and monitoring frameworks for deep sea mining of polymetallic nodules represents a quantum leap in knowledge, and will be critical in decision-making regarding the future management of seabed mining activities.
This comprehensive research will provide a sound scientific framework for the International Seabed Authority, and the Australian government, where applicable, to regulate such mining activities to minimise environmental harm. Without such research, there is a risk of harm from mining activities that can persist for generations.
Hannah Wilcox is a MPhil candidate at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong. She has a Masters of Maritime Policy.
Commencing deep seabed mining, even with ongoing monitoring, ignores the significant number of calls for a moratorium until the full environmental, cultural, and economic impacts of mining are understood. There are also legal and institutional challenges to successfully implementing an adaptive monitoring program to deep seabed mining.
The ISA is tasked with managing deep seabed resources for the benefit of humankind in accordance with UNCLOS. This mandate is achieved in part by the ISA controlling mining activities through contracts entered into with States or private entities.
Enshrined within the convention is the notion that the parties to these contracts are entitled to security of tenure. For an adaptive monitoring program any contract entered into would need to allow the ISA to halt or limit mining depending on the results of the proposed on-going monitoring.
This set up presents a challenge to the feasibility of an adaptive approach to mining; the approach may lead to uncertainty for contractors and may make deep seabed mining a too risky and non-profitable endeavour.
The consortium focused on the concept of ‘serious harm’ and how this should be defined (and avoided), accepting that ‘if deep-sea mining proceeds, then there must be some level of harm that is allowed’.
Recent discussions at the ISA’s 30th Session held in March 2025, however, considered the appropriateness of referring to the prevention of ‘harmful effects’ instead of ‘serious harm’ when drafting exploitation regulations. The term ‘harmful effects’ covers a wider range of impacts upon the marine environment.
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