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Deep diveROBOTICS

OceanMiner Deep-Sea Mining Robot Swarm Begins Commercial Manganese Nodule Collection in the Pacific

Canada's DeepGreen Metals completes the first commercial manganese nodule collection in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone with OceanMiner robot swarms, extracting 30 tons of ore daily as a critical metal source for EV batteries.

The deep-sea floor harbors abundant polymetallic nodules (also called manganese nodules) containing critical raw materials for EV batteries: cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper. According to International Seabed Authority estimates, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) alone holds over 30 billion tons of manganese nodules, sufficient to meet global battery metal demand for decades.

On July 2, 2028, Canadian deep-sea mining company DeepGreen Metals announced that its OceanMiner robot swarm completed the first commercial manganese nodule collection in the CCZ (approximately 1,500 km west of Mexico in the Pacific). The OceanMiner system consists of three seabed collection robots, one underwater crusher, and one surface operations vessel, extracting approximately 30 tons of manganese nodule ore daily.

The seabed collection robots use tracked chassis to autonomously traverse the soft sediment floor at 4,000 to 6,000 meters depth, using vacuum suction to collect 2 to 10 cm diameter nodules from the surface. Ore is piped to a preliminary processing system on the surface vessel for sediment separation before shipping to smelters.

CEO Gerard Barron said: "Deep-sea mining is the most environmentally friendly way to obtain battery metals. Land-based cobalt and nickel mining often involves deforestation, water pollution, and community conflicts—deep-sea mining's environmental footprint is far smaller."

But environmental controversy persists. Oceana called the commercial operation "opening Pandora's box." The CCZ's deep-sea ecosystem is among Earth's least understood, with unique microscopic organisms in the seabed sediment. Collection operations disturb sediment, creating large-scale turbidity plumes that may cause irreversible damage.

The ISA is reviewing DeepGreen Metals' formal mining permit application, with a decision expected by end of 2028. China Minmetals Corporation is in discussions with DeepGreen Metals about introducing deep-sea manganese nodule ores into China's battery metal supply chain.