Marketplace All-in-One Deep-sea mining: The next frontier for critical minerals
Dec 9, 2025
Dan Ackerman, a Marketplace contributor and ocean mining expert, dives into the intriguing world of deep-sea mining. He explains how rare-earth elements crucial for our tech lie on the ocean floor, forming in unique conditions over millions of years. Ackerman discusses why this potential goldmine hasn't been tapped yet, covering economic challenges, technology gaps, and ethical concerns. He highlights a growing international race, especially between the U.S. and China, while also shedding light on the environmental risks of disturbing these unexplored ecosystems.
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How Deep-Sea Nodules Form
- Polymetallic nodules form on the seabed by molecules accreting around organic bits over millions of years.
- They concentrate critical metals like nickel, cobalt and manganese in potato-sized deposits usable for batteries.
Seafloor Deposits Rival Land Reserves
- Nodules can carpet large seafloor areas, making some deposits larger than known land reserves for certain metals.
- The U.S. Geological Survey estimates massive concentrations of nickel, cobalt and manganese in parts of the eastern Pacific.
Price Cycles Shaped Industry Interest
- Interest in deep-sea mining fell when metal prices crashed in the 1980s and resurged with the global energy transition.
- Demand for battery metals has renewed investment and attention to seabed extraction technologies.