Large-Scale Deep-Sea Mining is not for the European Investment Bank

The deep sea is a living ecosystem, not a lifeless abyss. If disturbed, it may not be able to recover within a human timescale. This realisation is beginning to reshape the debate on large-scale deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals and metals.

^{Text: Reneta Georgieva}

Growing support for a moratorium

Parts of the global financial sector now regard deep-sea mining as a high-risk activity. Institutions representing more than €3 trillion in assets cite scientific uncertainty, weak regulation and the risk of reputational damage to financial institutions.

The European Investment Bank has ruled out financing seabed mining, a spokesperson for the EIB stated in a comment to Deep Sea Reporter.
– Deep-sea mining cannot be financed under our current sustainability framework. The scientific uncertainty is too great, and the environmental risks cannot yet be reliably assessed or mitigated.

The Bank also refers to the EU’s sustainability objectives and precautionary principles.
“The EIB actively supports alternatives that can reduce pressure on primary extraction processes, including recycling, circular economy solutions, material efficiency and responsible onshore mining projects that meet the highest ESG standards.”

This reflects the EU’s broader strategy to secure raw materials whilst minimising environmental damage and reducing dependence on the most environmentally risky extraction methods.

Similar policies are emerging in other parts of the financial sector. The brittish bank, The Co-operative Bank was one of the first financial institutions to decide to exclude financing for activities linked to deep-sea mining.

“We will not provide any banking services to organisations whose activities are linked to deep-sea mining. One of the simplest ways to prevent companies from proceeding is to deny them access to finance.”

A growing number of huge companies, like Volvo Group, Scania, Google and Microsoft, have decided not to use metals and minerals extracted from the seabed.

Pacific states lead a long-standing resistance

The island nations of the Pacific have been the most consistent political voice, calling for a moratorium. Countries such as Palau, Fiji, Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia warn that the risks to marine ecosystems far outweigh uncertain economic gains.

They are joined in their criticism by Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, and often coordinate their efforts on the issue through regional forums in the Pacific. Their opposition is both ecological and cultural. The sea underpins their food security, fisheries, tourism and identity.
Local leaders warn that disturbances in the deep sea could harm coastal fisheries and the islands’ fragile economies. Scientific research supports these concerns and shows that seabed mining can destroy habitats, disrupt species networks and trigger long-term ecological changes in systems about which we have little or no knowledge.

Uncertainty and ecological risk

Deep-sea ecosystems are among the least explored and therefore the least understood on Earth. Hydrothermal vents, seamounts and abyssal plains are home to highly specialised biodiversity. Scientists warn that the effects of mining – such as sediment plumes, noise and habitat loss – may be irreversible and spread beyond the extraction sites.

Legal experts add that regulations and governance are developing faster than scientific understanding, which increases the risk of uncertain decisions.

The Global Ocean Treaty reinforces the precautionary principle

The 2023 Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), commonly known as the Global Ocean Treaty, reinforces the precautionary principle in marine governance. It enables large-scale marine protected areas and requires environmental impact assessments for high-risk activities in international waters, including deep-sea mining. The agreement also strengthens cooperation, scientific exchange and the sharing of benefits from marine resources.

Political deadlock at the ISA

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is facing growing pressure to finalise a regulatory framework, a mining code for international seabed areas.
Several states and industry players believe that large-scale mining operations should begin before scientific knowledge has improved significantly despite a call for a moratorium. This has created a stalemate between economic ambitions and ecological caution.

One company pushing ahead is the American mining firm Impossible Metals, which aims to mine polymetallic nodules on a large scale. This includes operations in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Hawaii and Mexico, and in the Pacific Ocean near the American Samoa archipelago.

The company, which receives support from venture capital firms, plans to use AI-controlled underwater robots, which it presents as a more environmentally friendly method. It believes that these robots will be able to locate and sort out nodules without damaging the surrounding seabed and its marine life.

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^{About Deep Sea Reporter: Our ambition is to examine and report on issues related to the sea and the life that exists beneath its surface. We operate in the public interest and are independent of political, commercial, and other interests in society.}