One of the leading international conferences on seabed minerals will be organized for the sixth time in Bergen, Norway, from 21-22 April 2027. Submit your abstract by 15 January 2027.
Dyphavsmineraler
Whilst a lot of work is currently being done to formulate a mining code for the exploitation of deep-sea minerals in international waters, the call to ban metal extraction from the High Seas is just as loud. A multitude of governments and tech companies are in support of this.
New estimates point to the Semenov fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as potentially the world’s largest massive sulphide deposits, with secondary materials adding additional economic potential and valuable clues for explorers elsewhere.
Denne høsten skal Sokkeldirektoratet legge frem en oppdatert vurdering av mineralressursene i norske dyphavsområder. Det nye estimatet vil bygge på store mengder data samlet inn gjennom tokt siden 2022 og kan gi et mer presist bilde av hva som skjuler seg på havbunnen.
To norskledede forskningstokt langs Nordøst-Grønlands kontinentalsokkel har gitt den første dokumentasjonen av polymetalliske noduler i Nord-Atlanteren. Funnene tyder på at åpningen av Framstredet for rundt 15 millioner år siden ikke bare endret havsirkulasjonen – den kan også ha utløst omfattende mineraldannelse.
Norge har produsert verdens første kobber fra en norsk dyphavsforekomst og demonstrert en komplett verdikjede for havbunnsmineraler. Likevel er videre utvikling satt på vent i minst fire år – og næringen retter nå blikket mot utlandet.
A controversial study claimed that deep-sea polymetallic nodules generate oxygen without sunlight. At Seabed Minerals 2026, an environmental researcher will challenge the finding, pointing to thermodynamic constraints and experimental artefacts.
For the first time, researchers have produced pure copper metal from Norwegian deep-sea massive sulfides. This historic achievement will be presented at the Seabed Minerals 2026 conference in March.
At Seabed Minerals 2026, Professor Markus Bertau of TU Bergakademie Freiberg will present an economic assessment of new hydrometallurgical processing routes for deep-sea minerals that could enable low-emission, zero-solid-waste metal production.
At Seabed Minerals 2026, Hannah Grant (BGS) will present findings from the SMARTEX project, showing how experimental manganese nodule mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone continues to affect sediments — yet many biological communities are re-emerging.