- Write by:
-
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 10:24:39
-
456 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Forrest said the Minderoo Foundation, which he and his wife Nicola fund with the dividends they get from Fortescue, will back a pause until there’s sufficient evidence that damage to ocean environments can be prevented.
According to Mining News Pro - Fortescue Metals executive chairman Andrew Forrest on Tuesday said his charitable foundation is in favour of a pause on seabed mining, the first time a prominent mining executive has spoken out against the nascent industry.
Forrest said the Minderoo Foundation, which he and his wife Nicola fund with the dividends they get from Fortescue, will back a pause until there’s sufficient evidence that damage to ocean environments can be prevented.
Seabed mining would involve vacuuming up potato-sized rocks rich in battery metals that blanket vast swathes of the sea floor at depths of 4-6 kilometres, and are especially abundant in the north Pacific Ocean.
Mining the seabed in areas outside national jurisdiction cannot begin until the International Seabed Authority, a UN body based in Jamaica, decides on regulations governing the industry. Some seabed mining already occurs in national waters but at much shallower depths, for example offshore Namibia where a De Beers subsidiary mines diamonds.
The ISA’s latest round of negotiations, ending this Friday, has been marked by division between member states over whether mining should go ahead at all.
“If regulators can’t apply exactly the same whole-of-ecosystem studies, including flora, fauna, terrain and unintended consequence and the same or higher standards, as we do on land, then the seabed shouldn’t be mined,” Forrest said, speaking at a panel at the COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Last week Germany said it backed a temporary ban on deep-sea mining to allow for further research, joining France, Spain, and New Zealand among countries opposed to the practice.
Alternatives, such as more efficient mining methods and recycling of existing metals, should be explored before seabed mining goes ahead, Forrest said.
Forrest, nicknamed “Twiggy”, is Australia’s second-richest person, with a net worth of around $17.8 billion according to Forbes.
The iron ore magnate plans to turn Fortescue into the world’s biggest green energy group and has previously called on rivals to speed up their energy transition and use green hydrogen.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/622328
Copper futures in New York rallied to a record high after a short squeeze that’s prompted a scramble to divert metal in ...
A Native American group said on Tuesday it will take its fight against Rio Tinto’s proposed Arizona copper mine to the ...
Teck Resources Ltd expects to generate annual earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization (EBITDA) of ...
The state-run Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) will soon revise its copper price outlook, which will be considerably ...
Chilean mining giant Codelco is still working to meet its estimated output for the second quarter, CEO Ruben Alvarado ...
Truck drivers in Chile staged protests Monday in the mineral-rich north of the country and around the capital Santiago, ...
Democratic Republic of Congo’s government has lifted a suspension order on a Congolese copper and cobalt operation ...
Peru’s copper production came in essentially flat for March at about 219,000 metric tons, government data showed on ...
Oxford Economics Australia has released data showing mine maintenance spending may be hitting its peak. But what does it ...
No comments have been posted yet ...