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An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will undertake a study to recommend a research strategy on seabed mining for critical minerals. This project will include an overview of the technological feasibility and economic potential of extracting seabed minerals; identification of information needed to establish baselines in habitats found at proposed mining sites and surrounding areas; and the potential social, cultural, and economic impacts of seabed mining, including cumulative effects and possible methods to mitigate negative impacts.
Description
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will undertake a consensus study to recommend a research strategy on seabed mining for critical minerals.
Specifically, the research strategy will include:
- A high-level overview, based on published literature, of the technological feasibility and economic potential of extracting seabed minerals to include:
o The geologic resource potential of different deposit types, with a focus on seabed minerals of commercial interest;
o The global state of technology and industry practices in current use and under development, including for prospecting, geophysical and geological exploration, leasing, extraction, transportation, processing, monitoring, operations, inspections, testing, and at-sea waste disposal; and
o The near- to medium-term economic viability of seabed mineral extraction.
- Identification of information required to establish baseline conditions in habitats targeted for mining and surrounding areas. This will include a description of anticipated physical, chemical, biological, and geological impacts on the water column, seafloor, and subseafloor as a consequence of seabed mining activities for a variety of deposit types, marine environments, and mining technologies, addressing the following questions:
o What types of monitoring and at what spatial and temporal scales and what technologies will be needed to establish environmental baselines and identify impacts at all phases of projects, including assessing and monitoring recovery when mining operations cease?
o What potential pre- and post-lease requirements are most practicable to avoid or mitigate impacts?
o What indicators could be used to determine:
§ If pre- and post-lease requirements are adhered to?
§ If mining operations exceed a threshold that causes long term loss of biological resources and/or disruption of ecosystems within or beyond the immediate footprint of a specific seabed mining operation?
- The potential social, cultural, and economic impacts of seabed mining, including cumulative effects and possible methods to mitigate negative impacts. The following questions could be addressed, as appropriate and feasible:
o What approaches are available for resource managers to ensure that local knowledge is included in environmental analyses?
o What approaches could be taken to ensure appropriate consideration of potential impacts to tangible and intangible cultural heritage (including archeological and historic objects)?
o What indicators are available to assess potential social, cultural, and economic impacts in regions where mining is pursued?
o What are the information needs for establishing a baseline to determine social and cultural impacts at a particular site?
Contributors
Committee
Chair
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Caroline Bell
Staff Officer
Morgan Monz
Staff Officer
Comment on Provisional Committee Appointments
Viewers may communicate with the National Academies at any time over the project's duration. In addition, formal comments on the provisional appointments to a committee of the National Academies are solicited during the 20-calendar day period following the posting of the membership and, as described below, these comments will be considered before committee membership is finalized. We welcome your comments (Use the Feedback link below). Please note that the appointments made to this committee are provisional, and changes may be made. No appointment shall be considered final until we have evaluated relevant information bearing on the committee's composition and balance. This information will include the confidential written disclosures to The National Academies by each member-designate concerning potential sources of bias and conflict of interest pertaining to his or her service on the committee; information from discussion of the committee's composition and balance that is conducted in closed session at its first event and again whenever its membership changes; and any public comments that we have received on the membership during the 20-calendar day formal public comment period. If additional members are appointed to this committee, an additional 20-calendar day formal public comment period will be allowed. It is through this process that we determine whether the committee contains the requisite expertise to address its task and whether the points of views of individual members are adequately balanced such that the committee as a whole can address its charge objectively.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Unavoidable Conflict of Interest for Jessica Fitzsimmons
The conflict of interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determines that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
Jessica Fitzsimmons has a conflict of interest in relation to service on the Committee Research Strategy for Seabed Critical Mineral Resources in relation to compensation attributable to a current contract with The Metals Company, a seabed mining company.
The National Academies has concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, its membership must include at least one person who has substantial recent experience working with industry to understand their process for establishing baseline environmental conditions in and around mining sites and conducting environmental impact assessment of mining activity on the water column, seafloor, and subseafloor. . As described in her biographical summary, Dr. Fitzsimmons has extensive experience studying the geochemical effects of trace metals and impacts on seawater chemistry through research on plumes near hydrothermal vents, glacial melt water, and seabed mining activity. Specifically related to this study, her recent research with The Metals Company measuring baseline conditions in and near mining exploration areas and assessing the environmental impacts of trial mining activities on water column chemicals will benefit the committee.
The National Academies has determined that the experience and expertise of Dr. Fitzsimmons is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent experience and expertise who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies has concluded that the conflict is unavoidable.
The National Academies believes that Dr. Fitzsimmons can serve effectively as a member of the committee, and the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.
:
Sponsors
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Staff
Caroline Bell
Lead
Morgan Monz
Lead
Safah Wyne
Madeline Jensen
Major units and sub-units
Center for Health, People, and Places
Lead
Earth Systems and Resources Program Area
Lead
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