노르웨이의 심해 채굴: 논란과 기회

### 노르웨이의 심해저 채굴 경쟁: 수십억 개의 중요 광물을 채굴하다
* ⛏ 노르웨이는 스발바르 인근 네바다 주 크기의 지역에 **약 920억 달러 상당의 자원**이 매장된 것으로 추정되는 귀중한 심해 광물을 개발하기 위해 경쟁하고 있습니다.
* 🌊 이 나라는 **대규모 황화물 매장지와 망간 지각**을 탐사하고 있지만 채굴과 환경 보호의 균형을 맞추는 데 어려움을 겪고 있습니다.
* 🇳🇴 노르웨이는 확장된 대륙붕의 일부를 채굴하기 위해 탐사하는 법안을 통과시켰으며, **채굴 전에 환경 평가와 의회의 승인**을 받아야 합니다.
* 🇺🇸 가장 큰 대륙붕을 보유한 미국은 법적인 장애물로 인해 심해저 채굴 계획 개발이 늦어지고 있는 **노르웨이의 진행 상황**을 면밀히 주시하고 있습니다.
* 🌏 중국과 다른 국가들은 이미 **클라리온-클리퍼튼 광구에서 계약**을 따내기 위해 경쟁하고 있지만, 법적 장벽과 환경 문제로 인해 **심해 채굴이 복잡**해지고 있습니다.
* 💚 심해 채굴은 **친환경 기술에 중요한 광물**을 제공할 수 있지만 잠재적인 환경 영향 때문에 여전히 논란의 여지가 있습니다.
* 🤔 심해 채굴의 장기적인 실행 가능성은 **수익성, 환경적 지속 가능성, 법적 프레임워크에 대한 의문**으로 인해 불확실합니다.
* 🌊 수십억 달러의 광물 부의 잠재력에도 불구하고 **노르웨이와 그 밖의 심해 광업의 미래는 여전히 불확실**합니다.

노르웨이의 심해저 채굴 노력은 수십억 달러의 광물을 약속하지만 환경 및 법적인 문제에 직면해 있습니다.

- [Narrator] Deep inside this zone between Norway and Greenland, the seabed contains some of the most valuable minerals on the planet. From cobalt to rare earths, it holds the raw materials needed to drive multi-billion dollar industries such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other clean technologies. Currently, land-based supplies of these lucrative resources are dominated by China, giving sites like this massive geopolitical significance. But extracting such reserves from the deep sea is both a huge engineering challenge and highly controversial, with critics arguing that drilling here will cause irreparable damage to the largest ecosystem in the world. So here's how Norway is racing to tap into billions of dollars worth of rare minerals and why the US is intently watching developments. This remote operating vehicle, or ROV, is around 6,500 feet below the surface in an area of largely unexplored ocean. - This ROV is going down to the sea mountain

and drilling a core. - [Narrator] It's one tool being used to try and map out and analyze Norway's vast underwater reserves. - [Walter] So this is automatic and it can drill up to a hundred sites before it needs to go up to the surface again. - [Narrator] Loke Marine Minerals is one of several companies working with Norway to establish how it could mine here in the future. - The main challenge at the moment is that we do need more knowledge. We're gonna also include private companies in the work. So by opening, we're also inviting them in so that we can do this together - [Narrator] To better understand how it could mine its deep-sea resources, the country has opened up an area roughly the size of Nevada, close to the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard. Here, thousands of feet below the surface minerals are found in two forms, massive sulfide deposits created by magma

heating seawater below the seabed, which then rises up, depositing minerals on the ocean floor. And in manganese crust, which is formed where metallic compounds dissolved in seawater adhere to the sides of sea mountains. Initial surveys of this area estimate there are 38 million tons of copper and 45 million tons of zinc contained within the sulfides. In addition to millions of tons of cobalt and hundreds of thousands of other materials in the manganese crust. One estimate puts the potential value of Norway's minerals at around $92 billion. But these precious resources sit right next to protected marine areas. Companies in Norway are developing technology they hope will balance the challenge of extracting these minerals with environmental risks. - We are looking at small robots that are scraping off the crust and vacuum cleaning all material that was scraping off. If you think about a robot cleaning a swimming pool on the sides, all the crust will be pumped up.

to a vessel at the sea level. - [Narrator] But critics fear smoke plumes made up of the modern debris disturbed by the process could damage fragile deep-sea ecosystems. - We've tried to make the environmental impact as low as possible, but you cannot extract anything from the earth without making an impact. - But despite these concerns, the UN allows any coastal state the rights to the resources on and under the seabed within its continental margin. This generally extends to around 200 nautical miles. Countries can apply to extend this territorial limit. In 2009, Norway gained an additional 90,000 square miles, and in 2024 passed a controversial bill seeking to explore part of it for deep-sea mining activities. - First of all, it's important to say that what the parliament has opened for now is to explore, map, and gather more knowledge. - [Narrator] Norway says environmental assessments

and parliamentary approval must be in place before mining begins. Closely monitoring the developments in Norway is the US, which has one of the largest continental shelves in the world. - And that's not just because of the American mainland. You've got places like Alaska, Hawaii, and a smaller island, places like Guam, and American Samoa, which really give the US a very large continental shelf and a lot of ocean waters that it can exploit. - [Narrator] But unlike Norway, US legislators have been slower to develop plans to extract deep sea minerals. While countries like China and private companies are vying for lucrative contracts to mine beyond their own continental shelf. Most of the attention has focused on the Clarion-Clipperton Zone or CCZ, positioned South of Hawaii. Unlike Norway's resources, the minerals in this area are found inside nodules, small rocks loosely scattered on the sea floor. It is believed there's more nickel, cobalt,

and manganese here than in all land deposits. But legislative hurdles stand in the way of actually mining them. First, permission from the ISA, a UN body, must be granted, and so far, it's not handed out any exploitation contracts, although it has granted some exploration permissions. - China has access to five exploration sites where the US doesn't have access to any. The US hasn't ratified the UN Law of the Sea. That means it's not party to the ISA, and that means it can't actually legally gain exploration or exploitation contracts for deep sea mining in international waters. At the moment, the main option for it is to open up its own continental shelf. - [Narrator] As the US scrambles to catch up on what many say is the ticket to a green future, all eyes remain focused on Norway's pioneering efforts. - I think it has also been important for us to talk honestly about it, to say that we see the need

for these minerals, but to also say that we don't know everything. But if we are ever gonna continue and be able to extract seabed minerals in a sustainable way, we have to start somewhere, we need more knowledge, and we need to invite private actors to play a part in it. - [Narrator] But legislative hurdles, environmental factors, and profitability all leave this nascent industry with huge question marks over its long-term viability. Until there are clearer answers, these zones cram with billions of dollars worth of critical minerals may be left untapped. - The irony is that it could help society become greener, but remains hugely controversial because of the harm it could do to the rest of the environment.

Inside the Race to Mine $92 Billion Worth of Deep Sea Minerals | WSJ

The Wall Street Journal takes you inside carefully selected stories and events in a visually captivating way so you can dig deeper into the news and insights that matter to you. 

The Wall Street Journal

귀중한 심해 광물을 활용하기 위한 노르웨이의 경쟁

노르웨이와 그린란드 사이의 해저에는 청정 기술 산업에 중요한 광물이 매장되어 있어 지정학적으로 중요한 의미를 지니고 있습니다.

노르웨이에서는 원격 운영 차량을 사용하여 수중 매장량을 매핑하고 분석하고 있으며, 민간 기업을 채굴 작업에 참여시킬 계획입니다.

탐사 대상 지역은 대략 네바다 주 정도의 크기로, 마그마에 의해 생성된 거대한 황화물 매장지에서 광물이 발견됩니다.

노르웨이는 해저에서 3,800만 톤의 구리와 4,500만 톤의 아연 등 920억 달러의 잠재 가치를 지닌 귀중한 광물 추출을 모색하고 있습니다.

노르웨이는 이러한 자원을 추출하는 동안 환경에 미치는 영향을 최소화하기 위해 소형 로봇과 같은 기술을 개발하고 있습니다.

그러나 비평가들은 채굴 과정이 취약한 심해 생태계에 해를 끼칠 수 있다고 경고하고 있으며, 노르웨이의 심해 채굴 활동에 대한 법안이 논란을 일으키며 우려를 낳고 있습니다.

미국과 심해 광업: 노르웨이와의 비교

미국은 다양한 영토로 인해 넓은 대륙붕을 보유하고 있지만 심해저 광물 채굴 계획 개발이 더디게 진행되어 왔습니다.

하와이 남부의 클라리온-클리퍼튼 지역은 수익성이 높은 광물 매장지의 핵심 지역이지만, 입법적 장애물과 ISA에 대한 접근성 부족으로 인해 미국의 참여가 저해되고 있습니다.

미국이 따라잡기 위해 노력하는 가운데 노르웨이의 심해 광업에 대한 선구적인 노력은 여전히 주목받고 있습니다.

지속 가능한 해저 광물 추출의 과제

해저 광물 추출은 지속 가능성을 위해 매우 중요하지만, 업계는 법적, 환경적, 수익성 문제에 직면해 있습니다.

앞으로 나아가기 위해서는 더 많은 지식과 민간 부문의 참여가 필요합니다.

사회가 더 친환경적으로 변할 수 있는 잠재력에도 불구하고, 환경에 미치는 영향을 둘러싼 논란으로 인해 업계의 장기적인 생존 가능성은 불확실합니다.