A Norwegian study has found a "substantial" amount metals and minerals ranging from copper to rare earth metals on the seabed of its extended continental shelf, authorities said on Friday in their first official estimates.The Nordic country, a major oil and gas exporter, is considering whether to open its offshore areas to deep-sea mining, a process that requires parliament's approval and has sparked environmental concerns.
"Of the metals found on the seabed in the study area, magnesium, niobium, cobalt and rare earth minerals are found on the European Commission's list of critical minerals," the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), which conducted the study, said in a statement.
The resources estimate, covering remote areas in the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea, showed there were 38 million tonnes of copper, almost twice the volume mined globally each year, and 45 million tonnes of zinc accumulated in polymetallic sulphides.
The sulphides, or "black smokers", are found along the mid-ocean ridge, where magma from the Earth's mantle reaches the sea floor, at depths of around 3,000 metres (9,842 feet).....
....MUCH MORE
Dad, what's a Valley Girl?Ahem. Recently on Black Smokers:
August 2018
"Norway to Map Deep Sea Mineral Deposits"
September 2019
Norway's Petroleum Directorate Completes Second Seabed MINERALS Expedition
August 2020
"The rush to claim an undersea mountain range"
August 2020
The Most Detailed Map of The Arctic Seabed Has Been Published
January 2021
"Norway eyeing deep-sea metal mining future instead of oil"
Gotta keep an eye on the blue-eyed Arabs of the North. Here's their claim for a hunk of freakin' Antarctica, from the Daily Mail's This is London:
(Does anyone else see Mickey Mouse?)
