BBC/Lindle Markwell
Plans to mine the Cook Islands' seabed have been condemned by campaigners who fear environmental damage.
“They look like chocolate truffles, but don’t eat them,” jokes Jean Mason, the curator of the Cook Islands Library and Museum, as she reaches into a glass case and pulls out a black, gnarled stone.
The “rock” she holds could well determine the future of this Pacific nation.
It's what scientists call a polymetallic nodule, created over millennia as minerals accumulate on the seabed.
Full of cobalt, nickel and manganese, these ancient formations are now precious: the metals are used in the batteries that power modern life, from electric cars to cell phones.
They have become a source of friction in the low-lying Pacific islands, which are among the nations most vulnerable to climate change.
With sea levels rising, the ocean – or Moana, as it is called in Maori and many other Polynesian languages – remains their greatest threat, but it is also their greatest supplier.
They fish there and live off tourists attracted by their turquoise waters, but the Cook Islands now want to dig deeper, up to 6,000 m, where the nodules are found.
It is a pet project of Prime Minister Mark Brown, who believes it will reshape the country of 15 volcanic islands in the south Pacific.
BBC/Lindle Markwell
Jean Mason believes that his country should exploit the polymetallic nodules found at the bottom of its territorial waters
The hope is that revenues from these metals could lead to greater prosperity than the islanders ever imagined.
Except the promise of deep-sea mining may come with an environmental price.
Proponents say harvesting these nodules for use in renewable energy will contribute to the global transition away from fossil fuels. They also believe that this activity is less invasive than land-based mining.
But critics argue that much is still unknown about the impact of mining what is one of the last intact parts of the planet. They say there should be a pause on deep sea mining until more research is conducted into its effects on marine life and the ocean ecosystem.
When Jean was growing up, she says, it was thought that nodules were only useful for making knife blades.
“We didn’t know cell phones were coming, as well as wind turbines and electric cars.”
The nodules are a topic of family conversation here and Jean is resolutely in favor of their extraction. Her husband is a lawyer for one of the companies granted exploration licenses by the government.
The library where she works is full of holiday reading material left behind or donated by tourists – tourism is the country's main source of income, accounting for more than 70% of its GDP.
It includes newspaper archives.
Jean puts in my hand a photocopy of an article from the Cook Islands News. This is from 1974 and the title says “100% concentration of manganese nodules”.
“What I mean is, we've been talking about this for over 50 years. I think the moratorium period is over.”
Gold in the oceans
The Pacific Ocean covers almost a third of the planet. And the nodules buried there have been known since the 19th century.
But in the 1960s, American geologist John L. Mero published a book demonstrating that the seabed could supply much of the world's mineral needs.
It's not an easy process – nor a cheap one. But when prices for metals like nickel soared in 2008, it looked more attractive.
Then Covid hit. The tourists left and the money dried up.
With the impact of climate change – rising sea levels and unpredictable weather – the country quickly realized it needed something else to fall back on.
The Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority estimates that there are 12 billion wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules in their waters.
Some argue that seabed mining is not financially viable. With technology evolving so quickly, these metals may not even be in demand by the time they are released.
But there are takers. And in 2022, the Cook Islands granted three licenses to companies to begin exploring the possibility of deep-sea mining.
They are now working with scientists to study the environmental impact.
BBC/Lindle Markwell
The government has granted three licenses to mining companies to begin exploring the possibility of exploiting the seabed.
“Nothing we do in life is risk-free. So if you want zero risk, you have to go and sit in a small room with cotton around you,” says Hans Smit, who runs Moana Minerals , one of the companies that has a research permit.
“We have this lifestyle, this lifestyle comes at a price. If we don't want mining and if we don't want to get all these metals, we need to stop doing pretty much everything we're doing. “
Hans is from South Africa and moved here to be part of the community. For him, metals from the deep sea constitute an “incredible resource” which could benefit the islanders.
Although there is a growing call to delay deep sea mining until International Seabed Authority regulations are developed, this only applies to international waters.
The Cook Islands still have huge reserves in its national waters – its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – and can therefore continue to exploit no matter what.
“We are known as small island developing states, but we like to call ourselves big ocean states,” says Rima Brown, a young Cook Islands resident with a geography degree who jokingly refers to herself as the face of mining. on the high seas.
Rima works for the Seabed Minerals Authority and spends much of her time mapping the seabed.
“Although our territory only covers about 200 square kilometers, we have an exclusive economic zone of almost 2 million square kilometers,” she says.
It is the equivalent of Mexico.
“It’s the only resource we have,” Jean says.
“(Industrialized nations) are destroying our atmosphere and then they have the nerve to tell us, let's leave your stuff in the seabed. How dare they tell us we can't touch our resources?”
But foreigners are not the only ones opposing deep-sea mining in the Cook Islands.
Sustainability or fatal error?
Off the coast of Rarotonga, the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands, crowds of surfers, kayakers and swimmers gather around a large vaka, a traditional Polynesian catamaran.
“Te Moana, Te Moana, Paruru ia ra, Paruru ia ra,” the people on board repeat – “Protect our ocean,” they sing in Maori.
“We are asking for more time to conduct independent, robust research, more time for our populations to be better aware of what potential risks might look like,” says Alanah Matamaru Smith of the Te Ipukarea Society, an environmental organization based in Rarotonga.
“We're seeing infrastructure being built here in Rarotonga, housing for offshore mining companies that want to reside here, we already have draft mining regulations in place. Actions speak much louder than words at the moment.”
BBC/Lindle Markwell
Campaigners call for more independent research into the environmental impact of deep sea mining
Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is leading this project, is also Minister of Tourism and Minister of Seabed Minerals. He has made it clear that he wants the Cook Islands to be a leader in this sector.
“This gives our children the opportunity to study at any university in the world without having to take out a student loan,” says Brown, who has a vision of following Norway’s example by creating a sovereign wealth fund.
“This allows us to have the type of health care that our people have to go to New Zealand or Australia for. It gives our young people the opportunity to live fulfilling lives here in our country, without having to go to other countries to conduct their trade in an industry that does not exist here.
To those who say a country threatened by climate change risks becoming part of the problem, he says he is trying to find solutions.
“We know that over the past 20 years we have not been able to secure funding from the largest emitting countries, so we must look for ways to protect ourselves.”
But activist June Hosking is not convinced.
She comes from one of the outer islands, Mauke, which has only 300 inhabitants.
Although the government has held consultations with people on the islands as well as New Zealand's large diaspora, she says the potential downsides of the industry are not being discussed.
“People don’t like to make waves on the outer islands,” she says. “So when we have these consultations, there may only be three of us speaking up.”
June says that such is life on the island, many refer to the Prime Minister as Mark. She also says that her wife is married to her husband's cousin.
But her family ties don't stop her from being seen as a troublemaker when she asks questions.
“When locals say, 'Oh no, I'm staying neutral on (deep sea mining),' I say, 'You can't drive very far in neutral,'” she says with a laugh.
“There are times in your life where you really have to take a stand for something – we're talking about our future here.”
Additional reporting by Lindle Markwell.
You can listen to the documentary by Katy Watson from the Cook Islands on Assignment on BBC World Service Radio.
