Factcheck this: Deep sea mining is key to transitioning to clean energy

Question

Deep-sea mining is key to making transition to clean energy, says Loke https://on.ft.com/3ZzOrBB #worldnews #news

Answer 1

This claim is the opinion of Hans Olav Hide, chair of Loke Marine Minerals. 

The basis of the claim is that there needs to be an increase in production of minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium in order to meet the needs for clean energy technology such as batteries. The claim by Loke's chair is that deep-sea mining is the solution to meeting this demand for minerals, rather than the current method of sourcing the materials from China.

It is uncertain the effect deep-sea mining can have on the ecosystem as it is a new practice. There are no global rules for deep-sea mining but the UN backed International Seabed Authority can give exploration licenses for the mining.

An article from Forbes says there is a potential for deep-sea mining to be less destructive than mining on land which can lead to deforestation and impact water usage.

The Forbes article says that deep-sea mining occurs in the aphotic zone of the ocean where light does not reach and there is little biodiversity. The article also referenced a study from MIT where they found 92-98% of sediment from mining re-settled or remained 2 meters above the seabed.

The Financial Times article referenced in the Mastodon post ends with the following quote from Nick Popovic, head of copper and zinc trading at the company Glencore, which highlights the uncertainty in the new field of mining.

"The problem with deep-sea mining is that it’s so early in the game that without any meaningful examples, I would personally struggle to assess it"

Comments

Nice job finding so many sources for your fact-check and explaining the claim in detail so that anyone can understand it. The quote you ended your fact-check, summed everything up!

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Your fact-check was very easy to follow and the three additional sources help provide a bigger picture to deep sea mining.

Answer 2

As the previous comment stated, this claim is an opinion. Deep sea mining, according to this article from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), does retrieve mineral deposits from the ocean floor, which contain minerals that can be used to produce "green" technologies, or technologies that are healthier for our planet. However, as the article comments, deep sea mining is incredibly difficult to regulate. An incomplete mining code along with the fact that most of these areas of the ocean are not under the jurisdiction of any particular country contributes to this issue. Overall, the debate lies in whether or not the risk is worth it. This is more of an individual opinion that varies from person to person rather than a fact.

Source:

https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/11/geopolitics-deep-sea-mining-and-green-technologies 

Comments

I think you approached the topic very openly and appreciated you noting at the end that the debate is not really over whether it's true or not but it rather subjective. The answer is not set and you highlighted that to show that it isn't even a fact to check but rather an opinion which will help prevent readers from spreading misinformation. I always thinking .org websites is a good way to go when fact checking since usually their purpose is to simply inform and not persuade.