JPI Oceans project investigates the environmental impact of deep sea mining

Mining Impact 2 involves the participation of 5 Portuguese teams

The deep sea is characterized by its great biodiversity and a soil rich in various ores where you can find iron, copper, nickel, lithium, gold, cobalt, other rare minerals and even deposits of manganese nodules. JPI Oceans' new project, Mining Impact 2, aims precisely to assess the risks of deep-sea mining and in particular the impacts that this activity can have on the environment, the sea and its ecosystem. To this end, it will carry out scientific monitoring of the impacts caused by an industrial intervention carried out on manganese nodule deposits in the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean.

This project will continue the success achieved by the Mining Impact 1 project (2013-2017), in which Portugal also participated with two teams. The aim is now to produce more knowledge to predict the ecological, biogeochemical and hydrodynamic consequences of mining activity; to test a variety of new monitoring methods and techniques to verify the state of ecosystems; and to carry out comparative studies between different deep-sea environments. The knowledge gained will be passed on to the community and will inform policy-makers and regulatory bodies, contributing to the definition of regulations governing deep-sea mining activities. The project will start in August 2018 and last 42 months.

Mining Impact 2 brings together 32 partners from 10 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Jamaica, Norway, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom), with total funding of €13,994.00 million. Portugal will participate with 5 national teams from entities such as: CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar; CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research; IMAR - Centro do IMAR da Universidade dos Açores; IPMA - Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, IP; and UALG - Universidade do Algarve, with joint funding from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and DGPM - Direção-Geral de Política do Mar.

More information at jpi-oceans.eu