More than 10,000 feet deep in the ocean, the seafloor is covered with what look like dark, lumpy potatoes.
These polymetallic nodules, as they’re known, take millions of years to form, slowly accumulating metals like nickel, cobalt and manganese. That’s made them a target for mining companies, looking to feed the world’s growing hunger for materials that go into advanced batteries and other technologies.
On the seafloor, the nodules are vital habitat, part of a fragile ecosystem of marine species that are adapted to the dark, cold environment. With the majority of life in the deep sea still undiscovered by humans, many scientists say too little is known about damage that mining could cause.