Under the UN's Convention on the Law of the Sea, mining rights on the ocean floor are controlled by a little-known body, the International Seabed Authority, which since 2001 has issued 13 licences - with another six in prospect.
BBC: UK Seabed Resources joins deep-ocean mineral-mining rush
If ratified by Congress, it will grant a Kingston, Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA) the power to regulate deep-sea oil exploration, seabed mining, and fishing rights.
If approved, it will grant a Kingston, Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA) the power to regulate deep-sea oil exploration, and seabed mining.
But many marine scientists and conservationists have warned that the implications of this deep-sea gold rush are not yet understood - and that mining nodules or hydrothermal vents could prove catastrophic for seabed ecology.
BBC: UK Seabed Resources joins deep-ocean mineral-mining rush
The Dwarf King goes from being committed to the productive arts of mining and metallurgy to simply gazing at the veritable sea of gold which he has gathered under the ground.
The Bush administration is urging the Senate to consent this summer to the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the complex and sprawling treaty that governs shipping, navigation, mining, fishing and other ocean activities.
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Potash is a soft rock, which is extracted from sedimentary sea beds formed by evaporation of ancient seas, which is mined via conventional shaft mining like gold and silver.
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One risk is that the mining operations could generate huge plumes of sediment that could drift through the sea - choking any marine life that feeds by ingesting water and filtering out its food sources.
BBC: UK Seabed Resources joins deep-ocean mineral-mining rush
De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea.
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He described mining hydrothermal vents as "more invasive" because it would involve breaking up the uppermost metre of the sea floor and piping the rock fragments to the surface.
BBC: UK Seabed Resources joins deep-ocean mineral-mining rush
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