It seems that an Australian prospector wants to start mining the ocean floor. And he might just get his wish.
He claims that mining at the bottom of the ocean will eliminate many of the negatives associated with modern mining. [digg=http://www.digg.com/world_news/Mining_the_ocean_floor_being_seriously_considered]
Heydon acknowledges that digging up the deep seas could make him a billionaire. But he insists that it’s also the solution to all the ills that land-based mining has caused. No indigenous societies need be disturbed. Better still, land doesn’t have to be butchered. There are no open pits, no leveled mountaintops. To make the most out of poor-quality ore, mining companies use cyanide to increase their yield and run the risk of polluting streams and lakes. None of that, he says, will happen underwater.
Ocean mining may seem like the next logical step, and he goes on to say that much of the land based mines are becoming exhausted:
This new approach to mining comes as the industry reaches a critical juncture. Many of the major land deposits have been exhausted by the $225 billion-a-year industry. But demand for minerals has never been higher. China and India are rapidly developing a middle class that’s hungry to improve its quality of life. That means millions of new houses laced with miles of copper wiring and acres of corrugated iron roofing. It means TVs, cars, and cell phones flecked with gold and cobalt. “How do we tell the guy living in a thatched hut that he can’t have a new metal roof because it’s going to cause environmental problems?” Heydon asks. “When we were developing, we didn’t care about that, so why should they? It’s up to us to pioneer new options.”
Heydon talks a good game. And in the past year, he has almost single-handedly ignited the current rush to mine mineral deposits on the ocean floor. Shuttling between the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US, he’s delivered his spiel hundreds of times to investors like the ones gathered here in San Francisco, as well as to the world’s largest mining companies. Anglo American, the owner of the De Beers diamond dynasty and the world’s second-largest mining company, recently invested $25 million. An additional $75 million came from iron, steel, and zinc producers who are scrambling to hedge against the possibility that their terrestrial mines may become depleted. Nautilus went public on the mining-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange in May, raising $22 million more. This winter the company said it would issue additional shares, raising another $100 million. What was a concept-driven startup 10 months ago is now a company with a war chest of cash. And things are moving fast, at least for the world of heavy industry: Nautilus is on track to begin mining the seabed by 2009.
You can read the full story here.
This actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. On the other hand, I’ve heard some pretty amazing proposals in my life and I can’t help myself from thinking that this is nothing more than a pipe dream. It will be interesting to see how this plan plays out.
One potential issue that may arise if this idea goes forward is if mining companies set up operations in international waters. Will governments attempt to assume regulatory control over operations? What would happen if a large mining company bullied its way onto a smaller company’s claim? Who resolves disputes over claims or other issues?
If mining does proceed and no governments get involved, it could be an interesting experiment in libertarianism on a small scale. What do you think?
