Energy & Climate
Mining in the Arctic
Greenpeace survey in Arctic deep sea mining area finds deep-diving whales and dolphins.
13 August 2024
Main image: Greenpeace Nordic concluded a two-day action against an international Deep Sea Minerals conference in Bergen, Norway © Will Rose / Greenpeace
Norwegian deep sea mining company Loke Marine Minerals, owner of UK deep sea mining company UK Seabed Resources (UKSR), has declared bankruptcy.
Loke had dreams of becoming the world’s largest deep sea mining company, holding licenses in the Pacific as well as setting its eyes on the Arctic.
Now, its deep sea mining dreams have been shattered.
UK Seabed Resources holds two UK government sponsored deep sea mining exploration licenses which together cover an area of the Pacific larger than England.
In November last year, Loke Marine Minerals pleaded for new investors but recognised that it was struggling. The reason: its potential investors ‘were not immune’ to the strong resistance against deep sea mining from governments, scientists and communities around the world.
This is the latest blow for the struggling industry, with another deep sea mining company, Impossible Metals, also having to postpone plans for mining tests due to funding issues.
These blows follow a meeting of the United Nations regulatory body, the International Seabed Authority, which concluded with widespread international condemnation of Canadian mining firm, The Metals Company, moving to bypass the United Nations process and seek unilateral approval to start mining in the Pacific from the United States.
The UK government sponsors two deep sea mining exploration licences through UKSR, covering 133,000km2 of the Pacific Ocean.
UKSR was acquired by Loke Marine Minerals in March 2023; it was previously been owned by US weapons company Lockheed Martin.
Loke’s chairman, Hans Olav Hide, told Reuters after the acquisition that the company’s ambition was ‘to start extraction from 2030’.
‘Loke’s bankruptcy just goes to show how incompetent this nascent industry is and it’s putting our oceans in grave danger. Reasons to back a moratorium to stop rogue companies destroying the seabed are mounting by the day. Foreign Secretary David Lammy needs to show global leadership on ocean protection by ending support for a deep sea mining rulebook, get fully behind the effort to secure a global moratorium, and drop sponsorship of UK deep sea mining licences immediately.’
ERICA FINNIE
A campaigner for Greenpeace UK
The news came as protestors disrupted a deep sea mining conference in Bergen.
Deep sea mining is a dangerous emerging industry, which continues to suffer setbacks as global opinion turns against the industry due to the severe harm it would cause to deep sea ecosystems.
Greenpeace urges governments to stand up to deep sea mining, and attempts by The Metals Company to bypass the United Nations process, by supporting a deep sea mining moratorium at the next ISA meeting in July.
‘On the same day that we shut down a deep sea mining conference in Bergen, deep sea gamblers Loke Marine Minerals announced their bankruptcy. Deep sea gambling does not pay off.
‘This dangerous deep sea mining company declaring bankruptcy is yet another symbol of a desperate industry in crisis, and it is a win for all those who have campaigned so hard to stop deep sea mining in the Arctic and the Pacific. Now we must secure a global moratorium to stop this desperate industry.’
HALDIS TJELDFLAAT HELLE
A campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic
Greenpeace survey in Arctic deep sea mining area finds deep-diving whales and dolphins.
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