‘On board’ deep-sea mining. An ocean-based perspective

Abstract

A battery in a rock». So goes the slogan of Nautilus Minerals, one of the companies currently most active in the deep-sea mining (DSM) sector. Today, the extraction of minerals from the seabed is increasingly seen as the new frontier in the push to transition to a «low-carbon economy» that requires larger quantities of metals. The mainstream narrative behind what is broadly termed "just transition" is that technology will save the world 2 . As Donna Haraway argues this apocalyptic mood is characterized by a «cosmic faith in restorative technology» (Haraway 2020: 16). In the search for solutions to mitigate climate change, the demands of capitalist societies go unchallenged; on the contrary, even more resources are being invested in the quest for advanced technologies, with a view to maintaining the existing system under a greener guise. As some scholars have proposed, «just transition could provide another platform for corporate "tournaments of virtue" where companies compete to profile their "good deeds"» (Bainton et al. 2021: 627). Not surprisingly, DSM is touted by national governments and corporations as more environmentally and socially sustainable than "land-based" extraction. 2 'On board' deep-sea mining. An ocean-based perspective Archivio antropologico mediterraneo, Anno XXV, n. 24 (2) | 2022 'On board' deep-sea mining. An ocean-based perspective Archivio antropologico mediterraneo, Anno XXV, n. 24 (2) | 2022 'On board' deep-sea mining. An ocean-based perspective Archivio antropologico mediterraneo, Anno XXV, n. 24 (2) | 2022