Considerations for Seabed Rare Earth Mining in the Pacific

A number of deep-sea mineral resources are well known and have been the subject of mining proposals. However, a recent paper has identified a new resource on the deep seabed in the form of rare-earth-rich seabed sediment. This paper considers issues associated with harvesting this resource from some of the identified locations, including demand for rare earths, methods of exploration, environmental concerns and some technological aspects.Copyright © 2013 by ASME