Deep Sea Mining: The New Gold Rush Your Grandkids Will Love

The Ocean’s Cry

What is the point recycling my waste?
Watching the news, I shake my head.
Doing my bit for the environment but,
Extracting minerals from the deep seabed?

Within the brutalist HQ on Jamaica’s shore,
Metals and minerals once confined to tales.
The International Seabed Authority’s home,
Inevitable reality as progress prevails.

They thrived in secret, hidden from sight,
Delegations met and silent words spoken.
Dubious negotiations gravitate to light.
Like sargassum blooming into fruition.

Trillions of metallic nodules on the sea floor,
Manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper.
The scattered basement is a real treasure trove.
Crucial for green tech? A promise improper.

Copper conducts power, steadfast and true –
Manganese may aid the batteries’ breakthrough.
Cobalt, the controversial and essential key,
For solar and wind plants so they decree.

Nickel joins the mix, alloys it forms,
Empowering electric vehicles will be the norm.
To meet the needs of green technology’s drive,
Deep-sea mining is a must they proclaim.

Exploring the planet’s last unknown space,
Hidden depths hold secrets we’re yet to surmise.
Clear is the harm to the ocean ecosystems,
The planet we live facing grave schisms.

In light-starved depths where survival is tough,
Transparent creatures camouflage in the rough.
Enduring the cold and the pressure and the black,
They face obliteration under armed attack.

The untouched seabed harbors life unseen,
5,000 species in a world pristine.
Dumbo octopuses glide graceful in flight,
Glowing decapods swimming in twilight.

Sea cucumbers defying the deep’s harsh rule,
Glowing bobtail squids, their shadows fuel.
The ghost fish, kin of the mighty shark’s fame,
The whipnose angler with stark teeth aflame.

The fearsome fangtooth, a haunting sight,
These species may vanish, this can’t be right.
Coral gardens and seamounts stand,
Providing shelter and food in this strange land.

Sponges and corals delicate in grace,
Feed on ocean currents, thriving in space.
Metal deposits, vital homes they create –
Octopus eggs shed; life’s fate awaits.

Fear for these beings in the deep sea’s abode,
Dredging will obliterate this natural code.
Their haven now faces a looming plight,
Deep mining devastates their world of night.

Capitalists crave the seabed’s store,
Believing the habitat brings riches galore.
Gigantic machines, weighing like whales,
Scoop up deposits, seal nature’s trails.

Material pumped high to ships in the sky,
Leaving sand, seawater, and waste awry,
Threatening oceans well beyond repair,
Climate change activists grieve in despair.

The risks of this are too severe to ignore,
Sediment plumes across the ocean floor.
Emphatically awakening pollution’s might,
Disturbing with noise, vibration, and light.

Leaks and spills happen now and it’s horrible,
Tainting waters with fuel and toxic chemicals.
The threat to our planet does far exceed –
Deep seabed mining, a destructive greed.

Did the news report silver, diamonds and gold?
The real motivation but we’re not being told.
Rapacious desires but the money doesn’t stack,
Victor Vescovo paraphrased:

An avid explorer and lover of the deep,
Assessed viability and his doubts did seep.
A commercial company seeking extraction,
Said recovering nodules is a lavish action.

On the financial math, a skeptical haze,
Not sustainable and not worth the craze.
The destruction will take a century to recover.
And countless species yet to uncover.

In Collingwood, Ontario, June 2023,
Showcased Impossible Metals for eyes to see,
Their Eureka 1 AUV, autonomous and grand,
Harvesting nodules from the virgin sand.

A patented tech, buoyancy engine, and arm,
With AI vision promoted harvesting’s charm.
This Commercial mining is on the brink,
Campaigners and scientists urgently think.

Because secret rumors cast doubts in the air.
Exploited loopholes bring collective despair.
Jonathan Mesulam alarmed and got gritty-
Dispelling deep sea miners from Papua New Guinea.

Then halting this policy is a critical act.
Deep sea’s impact we must comprehend
Destroy the eco system without proven facts?
We must limit the damage to this no end.

You’ve been to the moon – go back there,
The colossal squid and yeti crab gurgle.
We despise your presence here,
And your plans, we can never hurdle.

So,

What is the point recycling my waste?
Doing my bit for the environment.
Watching the news, the sea toad is dead.
Extracting minerals from the deep seabed?

Greenpeace International

Another Poem by Skendong: Reflections On Nature’s Harsh Realities

Read More: Deep-sea mining: A new gold rush or environmental disaster?

Further Reading: Deep sea mining is the practice of mining metals and minerals from the seabed. Here’s everything you need to know.