![]() The average grade of mines on land - that is, the percentage of minerals extracted with every metric ton of rock - has declined over the last decade, requiring miners to dig deeper to extract the same amount of minerals.Īll of these factors make deep-sea mining more appealing, supporters say. In 2019, a tailings dam - a structure that stores the muddy waste byproduct of the mining process - collapsed and killed hundreds of people at an iron ore mine in Brazil. While it supplies the materials used to build our modern lives, it has contributed to deforestation, produced large amounts of toxic waste and in some parts of the world has fueled a rise in child labor. The mining industry has long had a mixed reputation on land. A typical EV needs six times more minerals in total than a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. That's increased prices for EVs and other electronics after they had fallen for years up to 2020. Many of the minerals that go into making an EV are becoming harder to find on land, pushing up mining costs in recent years. And the world will need at least four times today's amount in reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. ![]() With climate change escalating, governments are under pressure to rein in emissions – especially from the transportation sector, which was responsible for about 20% of global emissions in 2022.īy 2040, the world will need to use twice the amount of these metals as it is using today in order to meet global energy transition targets, according to the International Energy Agency. ![]() ![]() They are separate from rare earths, a group of 17 metals also used in EVs. The metals in those nodules can be used to build electric vehicle (EV) batteries, cell phones, solar panels and other electronic devices. ![]()
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