Deep-sea mining could find rare elements for smartphones — but will it destroy rare species? www.theverge.com

posted by  banzaitokyo | 6 years, 10 months ago in Science & Technology

Japan has successfully mined zinc, gold, and other minerals from a deep-water seabed off the coast of Okinawa, The Japan Times reported in September. Though the scale of the operation is still unclear, it could be one of the first ventures in what may be a massive deep-ocean mining industry. And that is sparking renewed concerns among scientists about how this new gold rush will affect the unique creatures living off these ore deposits.