Deep-sea mining intelligence: data, policy, and science.
2026-04-06
Polymetallic sulphide deposits form directly at hydrothermal vents — some of the most extraordinary ecosystems on Earth. Eleven ISA concessions targeting these deposits are already rated high-risk. Here's why sulphide mining is categorically different from nodule extraction.
2026-04-05
UK Seabed Resources holds two of the largest concessions in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. After Lockheed Martin's 2023 exit and a Norwegian firm's bankruptcy, the licences now sit with Glomar Minerals — a newly formed company with opaque Delaware funding, former Loke executives, and a US lobby group connection. Greenpeace is taking the UK government to court over it.
2026-04-01
A data-driven breakdown of the 23 contractors holding ISA exploration contracts — ranked by claim count, total licensed area, and environmental risk. The results are dominated by state-backed institutions.
2026-03-31
Polymetallic sulphides form exclusively at hydrothermal vents — the deepest, hottest, most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. With 504 ISA concessions, the conflict between mineral extraction and ecosystem preservation is direct.
2026-03-30
With 751 ISA concessions and vast seamount coverage, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts represent the largest — and least discussed — category of deep-sea mining. Here's what makes them different.
2026-03-28
OBIS species occurrence records reveal where deep-sea biodiversity concentrates relative to ISA mining boundaries. The data is striking — and the sampling gaps suggest the true picture is far more alarming.
2026-03-25
The ISA Mining Code has been under negotiation for decades and remains incomplete. The 2021 two-year rule trigger — and what happened next — has made deep-sea governance one of the defining international law battles of the 2020s.
2026-03-22
Industrial noise from deep-sea mining would propagate thousands of kilometres through the deep sound channel. Here is what the science says about the impact on cetaceans — and where the regulatory gaps leave them unprotected.
2026-03-19
The Argo programme has built the first near-real-time global picture of the ocean interior. Here is what its temperature, salinity, and oxygen profiles reveal about the waters surrounding active deep-sea mining concessions.
2026-03-16
A complete guide to Abyssal Claims — how to navigate the map, interpret each data layer, and use the cross-layer analysis tools for research, journalism, and policy work.
2026-03-13
Polymetallic nodules took millions of years to form on the abyssal plain. They contain nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese — the metals at the heart of the clean energy transition — and the race to mine them is just beginning.
2026-03-10
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone — larger than the contiguous United States — holds the world's densest polymetallic nodule fields and 17 active ISA contracts. This is what that looks like on a map.
2026-03-07
Hydrothermal vent fields host species found nowhere else on the planet. Spatial analysis of ISA contracts reveals exactly how many active vent fields sit inside or adjacent to active mining licences.
2026-03-04
The International Seabed Authority issues contracts giving corporations exclusive access to sections of the international seabed — here is how that system works, who holds the licences, and what the governance crisis means.
2026-03-01
Deep-sea mining targets three ancient mineral deposit types across the abyssal plains, seamounts, and mid-ocean ridges — and the race to extract them is reshaping international law and ocean conservation.