Arctic seabed has potential to be significant source of valuable minerals

Oil and natural gas are not the only resources likely to be found in the Arctic valuable minerals may also exist on the seabed. Scientists have long known about unconventional mineral ore deposits known as manganese nodules. These nodules are spherical accretions of manganese, cobalt, copper and nickel which precipitate out of sea water at depth. n48 They form when warm solutions of dissolved metals from the earth's crust leach into cold ocean waters, and they are found on roughly a quarter of the ocean floor.ⁿ⁴⁹ Recovering the nodules can be technically difficult. The nodules are usually found under at least 2 miles of water and dredging them stirs large quantities of sediment which seriously disrupts marine habitat.ⁿ⁵⁰ Thus, excitement surrounding the minerals has calmed significantly since the 1970's.ⁿ⁵¹ Not only must the technology become cheaper and more widely available, but industrial commodity prices must also remain high to make manganese nodules profitable.ⁿ⁵²