Friday is the consultation deadline for comments on the government’s impact assessment for mining on the seabed. During the spring, the ministry hopes to open up areas for searching for materials. So far, no one in the world has started mining on the seabed on a large scale. A number of environmental organizations are strongly critical. In a joint statement on Friday, a united environmental movement demands that the government turn around and stop the opening process. They point out that a number of climate and environmental issues surrounding mining on the seabed have not been clarified. Strong criticism from the professional body The impact assessment also receives strong criticism when it comes to the claims that it should be possible to make a lot of money from mining. – Although the improbable is not impossible, the scenarios are out of step with the known reality, writes NGU, which is the state agency that works with geology. They go on to write that it “per today there is no data, observations or experience, or documentation from similar occurrences on land, which supports the scenario that forms the basis of the impact assessment”. NGU comes up with sharp and concrete criticism on a number of points. In some of the points, words are used that you rarely see from public agencies: The ministry believes that the samples that have been taken provide a mineralogical and geological starting point for resource assessment. – This is not correct and not in accordance with the scientific literature, writes NGU. The ministry writes that “There are several international analyzes of the demand for seabed minerals”. NGU calls this “misleading” and says that “all relevant reports discuss the increasing need for metals and minerals, but do not mention seabed minerals specifically”. The ministry writes that there is “a very limited financial downside as exploration costs are limited”. NGU calls this “a remarkable comment” and points out that exploration costs must be expected to be higher in deep water than on land. Criticizes secrecy The government has singled out two minerals found on the seabed: manganese crusts and sulphides. Both can contain metals that they think Norway can profit from, for example copper, zinc and manganese. However, the test results from the manganese crusts have not been included in the impact assessment. – Don’t start something crazy in the sea, focus on what we have on land, says Bård Bergfald. Photo: Bergfald.no – It is strange to have an impact assessment where one of the main themes is that large amounts of manganese have been found in the sea. And then the analysis of these is kept secret. That’s what Bård Bergfald, general manager of Bergfald Environmental Advisors, says. He has worked for 30 years with environmental toxins, the chemical industry and waste management and has written a report for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) about the investigation. He says that we already know roughly what is to be found on the seabed and that there are commercially uninteresting values: – Why do you keep analyzes secret in connection with an impact assessment, I have actually never come across that before in my 30 years in the industry, says Bergfald. He also points out that the investigation highlights that 0.2 per cent of rare earth species were found in the samples. These are rare metals that are in demand all over the world, including for use in battery production. Bergfald believes that 0.2 per cent is unimpressive, when 2 per cent has been found in the Fens field in Telemark, i.e. ten times as high. – It’s on land, why go into the ocean depths after 0.2 percent when you can find it on land at 2 percent? he asks. A robot searching for minerals at an underwater volcano approximately 1000 km west of Bergen. Photo: KG Jebsen center for deep sea research / UiB Equinor pulled out The sharp criticism from several quarters about the profitability of mining on the seabed comes the day after Equinor made it clear that they will not invest in it. Equinor has previously expressed interest, but now says that more knowledge is needed about the consequences for the marine environment. Several European countries have also been skeptical about mining on the seabed. Last week, the French parliament passed a ban. Bergfald believes that there are enough minerals on land and that it is therefore not necessary to start mining thousands of meters below sea level. – All the metals we need can be found on land, in well-known resources, he says. He points out that on land we already have the value chains with processing plants, smelters and recycling plants. – Use the resources we have on land. Then we know what the environmental consequences are, we know what the financial consequences are, and we manage to deal with it. Don’t start something crazy in the sea, bet on what we have on land, is his call. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate today published its resource assessment of the area on the seabed the government wants to open. According to it, there are, among other things, 38 million tonnes of copper and 45 million tonnes of zinc on the Norwegian continental shelf. This report has not been part of the impact assessment, and thus has not been consulted. news has asked the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for an interview. The ministry replies that they will not comment until they have gone through the consultation statements.
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Accuses the government of misleading about mining on the seabed – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
