Narrator: Miles below the surface of the ocean,
scientists are collecting alien-like creatures
from one of the world's least-explored ecosystems.
They're studying what lives down here
before a new industry moves in
to vacuum tons of rocks from the seafloor,
each one packed full of ingredients
needed to build electric-car batteries,
wind turbines, and solar panels.
There could be billions of tons
of valuable nodules in the ocean.
A Canadian startup called the Metals Company
could be the first to cash in,
and on this test run,
it scooped up the world's biggest haul yet.
You're looking at a cargo hold full of clumps of
metal that formed over millions of years.
Gerard: This is history.
I've never stood in this.
No one has. No one.
Narrator: The CEO says
deep-sea mining does less damage than mining on land,
though no one really knows for sure yet.
Should we be going to dig up our rainforest
to get these metals,
or should we be going to this abyssal zone to pick up rocks?
Narrator: But as the company toasts
to a successful pilot mission,
environmental activists say deep-sea mining
is not worth the risks.
James: We call on you to stop plundering the seafloor.
Narrator: They say they have leaked video
of sediment dumping that proves their point.
Crowd: Keep it in the ground,
just keep it in the ground!
Narrator: Hundreds of experts
have called for a pause on this kind of mining
until one of the world's most mysterious ecosystems
can be studied further.
Please do the science before you go in and destroy.
Narrator: Can vacuuming billions of rocks
from the deep sea
really help power a switch to renewable energy?
And is this kind of mining
actually any better than mining on land?
We went aboard the Hidden Gem
to see what mining the deep sea really looks like.
These rocks are called polymetallic nodules.
If you cut one in half,
the inside is kind of like a jawbreaker candy.
Each one begins with a fragment,
like a shark tooth or shell.
Over millions of years,
metal particles from the water and sediment build up.
A layer just a few millimeters thick
can take a million years to form.
Nodules are found in flat, soft parts
of the deep ocean around the world.
One of the most promising nodule fields
is in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone,
a stretch of Pacific Ocean floor
about as wide as the continental United States.
Nearly 20 companies and countries
are racing to launch the deep-sea mining industry here
Much of it is reserved for developing nations,
so The Metals Company partnered with 3 Pacific Island countries,
to be able to explore their plots.
Gerard Barron is on a decade-long quest to mine the deep.
His last venture ran out of money.
Gerard: I wanted to do something that was near impossible.
You know, I was pretty sure that if I didn't do this,
then it may not move forward. And that would be a travesty.
Narrator: He's the CEO of the Metals Company ...
Narrator: ... which in November finished a 10-week trial run
collecting nodules from the deep.
Gerard: Today marks one of the most important proof points
the technology is available to collect these rocks
at a commercial scale.
Narrator: Here's how it works.
The ship lowers a collector vehicle into the water.
This prototype weighs 90 tons
and is about the size of a minibus.
Narrator: Operators drive the collector remotely
from inside this control room.
Narrator: Each vehicle has four nozzles
and sensors that adjust their positions.
Rutger: They hover just above the seabed,
and the nodules that are laying there
are sucked into the nozzle.
They work kind of like a vacuum cleaner.
Narrator: The machine also collects
the top few centimeters of mud.
Internal pumps separate that from the rocks
and shoot some of the sediment back out.
Next, air bubbles push rocks, mud, and seawater up a tube
that can extend up to 2.5 miles.
After about 12 minutes, the slurry reaches the surface.
A whirlpool uses gravity
to separate the nodules from water and sediment.
The Hidden Gem was originally built to drill for oil.
The Metals Company
and its engineering partner, called Allseas,
retrofitted it to collect and store nodules.
The pile in this hold is the expedition's harvest.
The company says it's 3,000 metric tons.
Gerard: This is the first time a commercial collection
of this scale has ever been done.
Narrator: Many rocks break apart
on their way up to the ship.
Rutger: They are quite brittle,
but still, the product is very valuable
for extraction of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese.
Narrator: Most of the nodules will stay in storage
until the company scales up.
The Metals Company's ultimate plan
is to build processing centers at ports
that will melt and refine the rocks
into separate streams of useful metals.
The company wants those facilities
to be powered on renewable energy
and eventually plans to recycle battery metals as well.
But first, it needs permission
from the International Seabed Authority to scale up mining.
Some have criticized that process,
saying approval to explore mining in the first place
has been rushed and secretive.
But the CEO says this mission
will provide insights about mining
that you can only get by mining.
Gerard: If you're going to move an industry from an idea
into commercial production, you need to do this.
All of this data is going to be so important
as we build a picture
and prepare our finalized environmental impact study.
Narrator: Researchers hired by the Metals Company
sail alongside the mining ship in this science vessel.
They're taking samples before and after harvesting
to see how kicking up clouds of sediment
or creating lots of noise affects the deep-sea environment.
Gerard: I sometimes hear our critics say,
"But how can we trust the science if you're paying for it?"
I say to them, "Well, who's going to pay for it?
If I'm not going to pay for it, I'm sure you're not either."
Narrator: The company's environmental impact statement
based on this mission
is expected in the second half of 2023.
And one of the main questions is what to do
with the water and sediment sucked up with the nodules.
The Metals Company is still testing out the right depth
to minimize the impact of sediment clouds,
but estimates it's below 1,200 meters.
If it's closer to the surface,
it can block sunlight to sea life below
and spread to a wider area.
Activist groups shared these video clips with Insider.
They say it shows the Hidden Gem
spilling wastewater onto the surface.
The Metals Company responded with their own video
saying it was a temporary overflow from the whirlpool,
which it says ran over the deck and out of these pipes.
In an email, the company said
the event "did not have the potential to cause harm."
Insider could not verify
whether the videos show the same event.
Experts told us loose sediment
could impact sea life down below.
Narrator: A promotional video from the Metals Company
calls this mining area ...
Video: A vast underwater desert.
Narrator: But even deserts have life in them,
and this stretch of seafloor does, too.
Many of the species in the dark, high-pressure habitat
haven't been found anywhere else on Earth.
Recent expeditions have found a never-before-seen octopus,
a swarm of eels eating bait,
plus sea cucumbers, fish,
and stuff we didn't even have a name for yet.
Like this thing with nearly 7-foot-long tentacles.
It's attached to a sponge stalk, which is stuck on a nodule.
That's a key detail.
The rocks seem to give some creatures on the soft seafloor
something to hold onto.
So no matter how careful the miners are not to stir up sand,
removing nodules would take away key habitat
and likely kill any animals attached to them.
Narrator: What we do know is that mining metals on land
can have devastating effects.
The cobalt rush in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
has been linked to human-rights abuses,
including the use of child labor.
Narrator: In Indonesia and the Philippines,
nickel-mining operations led to
the deforestation of tropical areas.
But some mines are managed better than others.
Gavin: You have people promoting deep-sea mining often argue
that all land-based mining is inherently badly managed,
and that's not true.
There are certainly many cases where it is,
but there are certainly many cases where it's not.
Narrator: Ores mined on land also leave behind
lots of leftovers, called tailings.
These can leach dangerous pollution into water and soil
if not disposed of properly.
The CEO believes seafloor mining solves that waste issue
and has other benefits, too.
We generate zero waste and zero tailings.
We don't have the risk of any child labor.
We can commercially pick up these rocks
and help stop some of the terrible deforestation
of our most biodiverse habitats on land.
Narrator: That would mean replacing
some land-based mining with deep-sea mining.
But experts say there's no evidence
land-based mining would go away
or even decline if we mine the seafloor.
James: Hidden Gem, Hidden Gem, Hidden Gem.
Narrator: On November 16,
a Greenpeace campaigner radioed the mining ship at sea
to tell the crew his concerns.
Deep-sea mining is an imminent threat to the ocean
and the vast array of wondrous marine life.
Narrator: The activist says
the environmental benefits the company touts
are just marketing spin.
Narrator: Ultimately, experts say
mining always has trade-offs, no matter where you do it.
Narrator: Experts told Insider
the best way to make that decision is by starting small.
Narrator: Right now, 22 companies and governments
have contracts to explore deep-sea mining
in international waters.
The Metals Company says it could begin full-scale operations
as soon as 2025.
To shift away from fossil fuels,
energy experts say we need metals
for batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines now.
Narrator: The International Energy Agency says
that to avoid the worst effects
of climate change in coming decades,
the world needs to mine at least four times as many metals
as it does now.
Nodules could help with that,
but we'll still need a lot of metals from land,
and a lot more recycling.