Robot acquires knowledge of undisturbing mining operations in a Canadian lake.
CANADA'S COLLINGWOOD - Three mechanical appendages dipped into a local lake, sifting through the mud, picking out pebbles, and depositing them back into the robot. This device, built by California-based Impossible Metals, is undergoing a series of tests before being deployed in the ocean to hunt for precious minerals.
The company's vision is to create technology that allows mining the seabed with minimal ecological disruption. Conventional underwater mining involves scooping up massive quantities of material to find potato-sized, poly-metallic nodules that contain nickel, copper, cobalt, and other crucial components for electric vehicle batteries and other key products.
Impossible Metals' co-founder, Jason Gillham, stated that their robot selectively searches for these sought-after nodules, leaving aquatic life forms like octopuses' eggs, coral, and sponges untouched. The test prototype is stationary in the water, scrutinizing the lake bottom while researchers monitor its movements on screens in a lab, manipulating its path with a device reminiscent of a video game console.
The machine uses lights, cameras, and artificial intelligence to identify the valuable nodules while avoiding damaging the aquatic ecosystem. However, there are concerns about the impact on nodules' microscopic life forms, although the company assures it leaves 60% of them untouched.
The Minerals Company, a competitor, uses massive machines that roll along the seabed and suck up the nodules, causing significant controversy due to the extensive impact on the ocean floor. An expert, Douglas McCauley, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, likened this method to bulldozers. When they gather the nodules, waste is tossed back into the ocean, generating extensive plumes of sediments and toxins with potential repercussions.
Impossible Metals advocates for a less damaging approach. Although a more delicate method isn't without risks, as the harvesting of nodules destroys their habitats due to the presence of living organisms in the nodules themselves. Nevertheless, the global demand for critical minerals is soaring, with Impossible Metals intending to manufacture an autonomous, self-propelled robot, inspired by the Eureka 3 prototype, by 2026.
The finalized commercial version will be as large as a shipping container, equipped with sixteen arms instead of three, and a substantial battery increase from 14 to nearly 200 kilowatt-hours. With the U.S. presidential approval, the company aims to finalize its technology, conduct ocean tests, build a fleet, and collaborate with partners worldwide to commercialize its technology. However, the family of deep-sea creatures sustains a delicate balance, and the long-term effects of any deep-sea mining are yet to be determined.
In pursuing a less disruptive approach to seabed mining, Impossible Metals is focusing on creating a self-propelled robot, designed to selectively search for precious minerals while minimizing harm to aquatic ecosystems. This robot, inspired by the Eureka 3 prototype, is intended to be deployed in the ocean by 2026, recently expanded to include sixteen arms and a significantly larger battery, all in the name of advancing environmental-science, health-and-wellness, and climate-change mitigation through the use of technology.
