Deep Sea Mining

Deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a vast abyssal plain stretching over 1.7 million square miles between Hawaii and Mexico—roughly 800 miles southeast of the Hawaiian Islands—targets potato-sized polymetallic nodules scattered across the seafloor at depths of 4,000 to 5,500 meters, rich in cobalt, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements essential for electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy tech, and electronics.

These nodules, formed over millions of years from mineral precipitation in cold, oxygen-poor waters, hold an estimated 121.5 million metric tons of cobalt alone—five times terrestrial reserves—prompting intense commercial interest from companies like The Metals Company (TMC),