The oceans, place of battle for rare metals, “the oil of the 21st century”

“It has been more than fifty years that polymetallic nodules have aroused envy for economic and geopolitical reasons. The production of rare metals and rare earths is concentrated in a handful of countries. It is a strategic issue for France to secure its supplies by finding an alternative source. France has the second largest maritime domain in the world. The oceans are becoming a really strong geopolitical issue linked to tensions over rare metals, considered as the oil of the 21st century “, explains Sophie Kloetzi, journalist for the magazine We Tomorrow, guest on franceinfo on Wednesday 20 October.

“Mining is not yet taking place. The interministerial committee for the sea will study the feasibility of sustainable mining in France’s exclusive economic zones. In international waters, it will be under the aegis of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which is in the process of setting the rules of the game for exploitation before issuing permits.“, she specifies.”Industrialists argue that recovering metals from the sea would be better for the environment and cheaper than on land. Opponents believe that the environmental impacts on seabed ecosystems will be very significant. There would be a disturbance of habitats and effects that are still unknown “, Sophie Kloetzi concludes.