If the (rather intimidating) machines in the photo above remind you of bulldozers, “you’re close.” They are robotic deep-sea excavators. These particular ones can dig down to depths of 1,000 – 1,200 meters. And while this heavy hardware is steel and electronics, there is also a “control center” for each of them, located on a surface ship. Above. This type of “mining” is also proposed (among other things) as “eco-friendly”: it doesn’t destroy forests or pollute the atmosphere…
The photo below shows seabed excavation sites in New Guinea. Something like “plots”… The volcanic seabed there promises many minerals. And this is the beginning.
First conclusion: don’t think that 70% of the Earth’s surface is saved just because it’s covered by sea. Think again!
Second conclusion: Those EEZs do not acquire value only due to hydrocarbon deposits. Of course, not every seabed is rich in industrial (or precious) metals. And their detection is not yet an easy matter.
However, it is not to be the beginning…