SYDNEY, Thursday 03 July 2025 – In response to the new deep sea mining environmental frameworks issued by the CSIRO today, the following quotes can be attributed to Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
“These reports highlight, yet again, the dangers of deep sea mining for marine life and the health of the ocean. The CSIRO reports show that there would be substantial impacts on the seafloor and that animals, like sharks, could be harmed by mining plans like those of The Metals Company. Deep sea mining poses issues far beyond what can be captured in the scope of environmental frameworks; there is no framework to measure cultural heritage or Pacific people’s cultural connection to the ocean. Deep sea mining could not only irreversibly harm the ocean and marine life in the Pacific, but deeply impact Pacific cultures and ways of life.
“The research was paid for by The Metals Company, which has a track record of using Pacific nations as platforms, not partners. With the International Seabed Authority due to meet this week, we are urging the council not to rush through the mining code, but to listen to indigenous and Pacific voices who are increasingly standing against deep sea mining.”
37 countries are against deep sea mining, either asking for a precautionary pause or a global moratorium, including the eight Pacific Island nations of Palau, Fiji, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands. New Zealand has also backed a moratorium, but Australia has not.
—ENDS—
Notes:
– The CSIRO agreed to work with The Metals Company in 2022, tasked to develop a deep sea mining environmental management plan in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), where The Metals Company is pushing to mine for polymetallic nodules.
– Last week, a scientific survey of two areas targeted for deep sea mining in the
Pacific Ocean by The Metals Company found the presence of whales and dolphins, including vulnerable sperm whales.