Categories
Life Style

Deep-sea mining plans should not be rushed

[ad_1]

Employees of Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) work on a subsea mining machine being built for Nautilus Minerals at Wallsend, northern England April 14, 2014.

Giant excavators for use in deep-sea mining must stay parked for now.Credit: Nigel Roddis/Reuters

For more than a week, representatives of nations around the world have been meeting at a session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica. The ISA was established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 30 years ago with the task of protecting the sea bed in international waters — which comprise roughly half of the world’s ocean. The goal of the latest meeting is to write the rules for the commercial mining of metals such as cobalt, manganese and nickel. These are needed in increasing quantities, mainly to power low-carbon technologies, such as battery storage.

The meeting is set to end on 29 March, and there’s mounting concern among researchers that the final text is being rushed, not least because some countries including China, India, Japan and South Korea want to press ahead with commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals. Some in the mining industry would like excavations to begin next year.

China dominates the global supply of critical minerals and so far has the most sea-bed exploration licences of any country. These permits do not allow commercial exploitation. One company, meanwhile, The Metals Company, based in Vancouver, Canada, wants to apply for a commercial permit, potentially in late July.

There is little justification for such haste. Commercial sea-bed mining is not permitted for a reason: too little is known about the deep-sea ecosystem, such as its biodiversity, and its interactions with other ecosystems, and the impact of disturbance from commercial operations. Until we have the results of long-term studies, the giant robotic underwater excavators, drills and pumps that are ready to go must remain parked. Researchers have told Nature that the text is nowhere near ready, and that important due diligence is being circumvented. Outstanding issues need to be resolved, such as what is considered an acceptable level of environmental harm and how much contractors should pay the ISA for the right to extract minerals.

Last month, the ISA published the latest draft of its mining regulations text. This ran to 225 pages, and researchers and conservation groups were alarmed to see that, unlike previous drafts, it incorporated proposals that would speed up the process for issuing commercial permits, and it also weakened environmental protections.

Worryingly, a few of the changes in the latest text were not identified by square brackets — the practice in international negotiations to highlight wording that has not been agreed on by all parties. Nor were the sources for some changes attributed.

Furthermore, in an earlier version of the text, there was a proposal to include measures to protect rare or fragile ecosystems, but this wording is not in the latest draft. Another suggestion was to require that mining applications be decided on within 30 days of their receipt, rather than waiting for the ISA’s twice-yearly meeting — an idea that has support from some in the industry and that does appear in the latest draft.

Proposing changes to draft texts is normal in a negotiation, but failing to publicly identify who is proposing them is not. It is damaging to trust and a risk to reaching an outcome in which all parties are happy.

Questions are rightly being asked of the leadership of the ISA secretariat, which organizes meetings and is responsible for producing and distributing texts, as well as the leadership of the ISA’s governing council. Nature has reached out to the secretariat with questions, but no response was received by the time this editorial went to press. We urge the ISA to respond, engage and explain.

It is possible that the benefits to low-carbon technologies outweigh the risks of deep-sea mining if these are mitigated. But some 25 countries are calling for a moratorium on the practice, at least until the science is better understood. The European Parliament also backs a moratorium. This is also the official view of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, a group of 18 countries that pledged to not undertake commercial deep-sea mining in their national waters — despite founding member Norway’s decision to open up applications for commercial licences, which the European Parliament has criticized.

The UN Convention on Migratory Species is urging that its member states should neither encourage nor engage in deep-sea mining “until sufficient and robust scientific information has been obtained to ensure that deep-seabed mineral exploitation activities do not cause harmful effects to migratory species, their prey and their ecosystems”.

The ISA and its member states should exercise care, make their decisions on a consensus of evidence and be transparent in doing so, because transparency is foundational to the success of international relations. The deep seas are the least explored parts of the planet; we should not allow for their loss before we even understand their complexities.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Entertainment

Moon mining startup Interlune wants to start digging for helium-3 by 2030

[ad_1]

A budding startup called Interlune is trying to become the first private company to mine the moon’s natural resources and sell them back on Earth. Interlune will initially focus on helium-3 — a helium isotope created by the sun through the process of fusion — which is abundant on the moon. In an interview with Ars Technica, Rob Meyerson, one of Interlune’s founders and former Blue Origin president, said the company hopes to fly its harvester with one of the upcoming commercial moon missions backed by NASA. The plan is to have a pilot plant on the moon by 2028 and begin operations by 2030, Meyerson said.

Interlune announced this week that it’s raised $18 million in funding, including $15 million in its most recent round led by Seven Seven Six, the venture firm started by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The resource it’s targeting, helium-3, could be used on Earth for applications like quantum computing, medical imaging and, perhaps some day down the line, as fuel for fusion reactors. ​​Helium-3 is carried to the moon by solar winds and is thought to remain on the surface trapped in the soil, whereas when it reaches Earth, it’s blocked by the magnetosphere.

Interlune aims to excavate huge amounts of the lunar soil (or regolith), process it and extract the helium-3 gas, which it would then ship back to Earth. Alongside its proprietary lunar harvester, Interlune is planning a robotic lander mission to assess the concentration of helium-3 at the selected location on the surface.

A graphic showing how helium-3 is produced by the sun, travels to the moon and is deflected by Earth's magnetosphereA graphic showing how helium-3 is produced by the sun, travels to the moon and is deflected by Earth's magnetosphere

Interlune

“For the first time in history,” Meyerson said in a statement, “harvesting natural resources from the Moon is technologically and economically feasible.” The founding team includes Meyerson and former Blue Origin Chief Architect Gary Lai, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, former Rocket Lab exec Indra Hornsby and James Antifaev, who worked for Alphabet’s high-altitude balloon project, Loon.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
News

Mining Contracts from $10: How to Invest and Earn Passive Income with Mining

As more players enter the cryptocurrency market, mining becomes more complex and requires more computing power. As a result, many people who previously used their own equipment for cryptocurrency mining now find it unsustainable: high electricity bills and wear and tear on the equipment. Therefore, cloud mining is becoming an increasingly attractive option.

In the partner material, we go into more detail about its features and how it will help increase passive income.

What is cloud mining

Cloud mining is a mechanism that uses leased cloud computing power to mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Hardware setup and startup, no software installation required.

Cloud mining companies make mining even more affordable by allowing you to open an account and participate in cryptocurrency mining remotely at rock-bottom prices. Since mining takes place in the cloud, there are fewer issues with equipment maintenance or direct electricity costs.

How to start cloud mining

Here are the basic steps you need to take before getting started.

Step 1: Choose a Cloud Mining Provider

CGMD Miner is a popular and powerful cryptocurrency mining platform and an excellent resource for passive income. CGMD Miner is a free Bitcoin mining program that allows you to passively earn Bitcoins without any strings attached, regardless of technical knowledge or financial resources. Once $12 worth of Bitcoins are mined, they can be transferred to your account and traded. Any profits are yours and you can withdraw them to your personal wallet.

Platform advantages:

Get $10 immediately after registration;

High levels of profitability and daily payout;

No additional services or administrative fees required;

Other currencies can be generated;

The company’s Partner Program allows you to invite friends and earn up to $3,000 in referral bonuses;

McAfee security? Cloudflare® security protection;

24/7 technical support.

Step 2. Register an account

Mining Contracts from : How to Invest and Earn Passive Income with Mining

Go to the provider of your choice and sign up to create a new account.

CGMD Miner offers a simple registration process: all you need to do is enter your email address. After signing up, you can start mining Bitcoin immediately.

Step 3. Purchase a Mining Contract

Miner CGMD offers a variety of mining contract options: packages ranging from US$100 to US$5,000, each package has its own return on investment and a certain contract validity period. Right now:

Mining Contracts from : How to Invest and Earn Passive Income with Mining

The day after the contract is purchased, the revenue starts flowing in. When $100 is reached, the money can be withdrawn to a crypto wallet or continue to purchase other contracts.

Step 4: Earn passive income

Cloud mining is a great way to increase your passive income. Cryptocurrency capital can be grown via “autopilot” mode with minimal time outlay – less than any type of active trading. Passive income is the goal of every investor and trader, and with CGMD miners, achieving it is easier than ever.

CGMD Partner Program

Miner CGMD also offers an affiliate program, a platform that allows you to earn money by recommending the site to others. You can make money even without investing. A fixed one-time bonus of up to $3,000 will be charged for inviting positive referrals.