Potential Deep-Sea Mining Site Harbors Scores of New Species

What scientists found when a deep sea mining company invited them in

Industrial mining of the seabed could reduce the abundance and diversity of tiny animals living in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, a new study found. The study, published Friday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, was funded by The Metals Co., which is vying to become the first company to conduct commercial mining on the ocean floor. Researchers from the Natural History Museum in London analyzed samples from the seafloor before and af…

Potential Deep-Sea Mining Site Harbors Scores of New Species

The deep seabed offers an alluring source of minerals to sustain our modern lifestyles. But the same sediments that yield valuable substances, from rare earth elements to copper and manganese, may also harbor unexplored ecosystems teeming with organisms new to science. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . Potato-sized rocks dubbed “polymetallic nodules” have formed over millions of years from the precipitation of e…

Company Discovers Hundreds of New Deep Sea Creatures While Figuring Out How to Mine Their Home

The discovery could hold serious implications for the mining industry.

A Deep-Sea Mining Test Carved Up The Seabed. Three Years On, We're Seeing Devastating Impacts

To mine or not to mine? New research reveals what's at stake.

Sea-floor animals decrease nearly 40% in deep-sea mining zone: study

London (AFP) Dec 5, 2025 The number of sea-floor animals fell by 37 percent in a deep-sea mining exploration zone, according to a study published Friday probing the emerging industry's impact on biodiversity. The five-year research is believed to be the most extensive yet on the possible consequences of modern commercial deep-sea mining machines on oceans already threatened by pollution and overfishing. The indu

Company Discovers Hundreds of New Deep Sea Creatures While Figuring Out How to Mine Their Home - WorldNL Magazine

For all of humanity’s ventures to outer space, we’ve yet to see 99.999% of the deep-sea floor. In the latest subaquatic news, researchers discovered some 4,000 marine species, 88% of which were new creatures, during a deep-sea mining trial, no less. A team of European marine biologists and The Metals Company, a deep-sea mining firm, spent five years peering within the depths of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a section of the deep sea between Mexic…