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India angles to expand deep-sea mining as race for minerals heats up
Insights from the BBC, Foreign Policy, Semafor, and the New Security Beat
The News
India has applied for two new permits from the U.N.’s International Seabed Authority that would allow it to mine the Indian Ocean for precious minerals crucial to the green transition.
Massive deposits of cobalt, copper, manganese, and nickel are found on the sea floor — but there are widespread fears about the environmental impact of mining these materials.
SIGNALS
India trying to establish itself as ‘powerhouse’
If the new permits are granted, India will secure as many mining licenses as Russia, and one less than China. India is motivated to stay ahead in the race to mine for crucial minerals, and the Indian Ocean hosts a huge reserve of potential deposits. The country is also motivated to show that it can be a leading player in the field: “India may be ultimately seeking to project that it is a powerhouse in its own right, one that is not to be outrivalled in its own backyard, as well as to give the impression that it is not lagging behind the Chinese when it comes to the deep sea,” Pradeep Singh, who works on ocean governance at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Germany, told the BBC.
China leads race to mine sea floor
China has already cornered the minerals market, meaning countries around the world rely on it to procure crucial metals used in batteries and the production of electric vehicles. Beijing has also set its sights on deep-sea mineral extractions, and is hoping to prevent an expansion of mining that could threaten its grip on the sector, Foreign Policy noted last year. “China’s near monopoly of critical mineral processing gives it the ability to rock western supply chains,” the New Security Beat has argued. “Finding and extracting them could further solidify China’s lead” in accessing the reserves. In a bid to head off China’s dominance in the sector, lawmakers in the U.S. are increasingly pushing for Washington to mine the sea floor, Semafor’s Net Zero reported this week.
