Norway's parliament voted to allow seabed mining in a 108,000 square mile area of its Atlantic continental shelf and the Svalbard archipelago. Only a small portion of area falls within the country's exclusive economic zone. [see chart, credit Mongabay.com] The country applied for permission to access the extended continental shelf with the UN in 2009. The legislative action was expected despite public protests and scientists' warnings of environmental damage to the contrary, The next step appears to be the sale of licenses by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the agency responsible for offshore oil regulation. Norway intends to mine for valuable minerals that play a prominent role in 'green' alternative energy transition.
The government assured that deep sea mining will only go forward if it can be done in a,“sustainable way and with acceptable consequences.” Mining in the open ocean, beyond national jurisdiction has attracted a lot of attention from companies willing to exploit seabed resources. Of particular interest is the Clarion-Clipperton Zone where there are nodules dotting the sea floor containing manganese, nickel, and copper. Critics think that mining will inevitably release toxic heavy metals and noise into the sensitive marine environment.
Exploitation of these resources could endanger biodiversity say conservationists, especially since there is very little scientific data about the deep seabed and the creatures that live there. According to the Institute for Marine Research there is a lack of information for 99% of the proposed mining zone. [see chart]. Nevertheless, Norway could be the first nation to issue a mining license for the sea floor.