Miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean lies a vast stretch of seabed littered with what look like dull, dark rocks. Those rocks are actually polymetallic nodules, rich in the minerals that drive modern economies. They could help the United States break its reliance on China, which otherwise controls the market. But nobody has ever mined seabed nodules at scale, much less processed them for industrial use.
The United States is about to try. But as a recent RAND study found, getting those nodules to the surface is only part of the challenge. “We need to find alternative sources of these critical minerals that don't involve China,” said Tom LaTourrette, a senior physical scientist at RAND. “This is an all-of-government, all-hands effort. Seabed mining is one way we might accomplish it.”
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