Context: Recently, India has applied to the International Seabed Authority for license to explore two regions in the Indian Ocean. These regions are (i) Afanasy Nikitin Seamount and (ii) Carlsberg Ridge.
Afanasy-Nikitin Seamount
- It is a 400 km long and 150 km wide region located southeast of Sri Lanka in the Central Indian basin.
- This region is located around 3,000 km away from the Indian coast.
- The region is rich in cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel.
- There are volcanic seamounts here at depths of 500-2000 m that formed around 80 million years ago when dinosaurs lived.
- Named after a 15th century Russian merchant, who documented his travels to India.
- Cobalt rich crusts form when metal ions in the water react with oxygen to form oxides and get deposited on the slopy top portion of the seamount over millions of years.
- There is significantly high concentration of cobalt in 800-2000 m depth where oxygen levels are significantly low.
- ANS has been also been claimed by Sri Lanka as its territory under different rules.
Carlsberg Ridge
- Northwestern limb of Indian Ocean Ridge system.
- Carlsberg ridge defines tectonic plate boundary where Indian and Somalian plates are moving away from each other.
- Depth of 1800-3600 m.
- Seismically active and has recorded major earthquakes.
- Region has magma flowing out of earth’s interior or ocean crust.
- Seawater falling through cracks of ocean rocks interacts with magma and is spewed out through hydrothermal vents.
- Plumes have sulphides rich in minerals such as zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt, gold, silver and rare-earth and platinum group elements when then get deposited on the seafloor.
- Indian researchers have recorded chemical and temperature signatures in this region which could help identify the probable location of vents.
Current marine mining rights with India
India is the only country which has two exploration licenses from the International Seabed Authority for exploration in the Indian Ocean Region. Currently, India is licensed to explore two regions in the Indian Ocean.
- Central Indian Ocean Basin: India has 75,000 sq. km. exploration license in the Central Indian Ocean Basin Region
- Rodriguez Triple Junction: Located in southern Indian Ocean where three tectonic plates namely, African Plate, Indo-Australian Plate and Antarctic Plate meet near Mauritius. Also known as Central Indian (Ocean) Triple Junction (CITJ). This triple junction is named after the island of Rodrigues which lies 1,000 km from this.
Need for Deep Sea Mining
- Import dependence of India on imports for minerals such as cobalt from UK, China and Norway.
- Plateau of land-based mining: Mining on land has reached a breaking point and is hit by environmental conflicts leading to low-quality production.
- Importance for energy-transition: Minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese can be used to produce renewable energy such as solar and wind power, electric vehicles and EV battery technology. Thus, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation of climate change.
- Strategic importance: Other countries such as China and our neighbouring countries have been showing increasing interest to explore mineral resources in the Indian Ocean Region. This makes India’s keen interest in getting marine licenses as strategically important.
Concerns against Deep Sea Mining
