The findings follow US President-elect Donald Trump’s recent nomination of Elise Stefanik, to serve as the the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik is a vocal supporter of securing critical minerals for local consumption from potato-sized rocks called “polymetallic nodules”.
These nodules lie on the ocean’s floor at depths of 4 to 6 km (2.5 to 4 miles) and are abundant in the CCZ, where Canada’s The Metals Company (NASDAQ: TMC), already has two exploration contracts.
Planet Tracker’s report also comes a day after the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that over 40% of coral species face extinction as a result of human activities, including fishing activity, especially bottom trawling, deep sea mining, as well as drilling for oil and gas.
The reports and Stefanik’s nomination also come as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) works towards the final…
