Deep-sea mining is a horrifying idea

And with other battery designs and far better recycling practices (by law if necessary), we won't need the ores anyway. Of course some people may not get as rich as they intend to be, if it doesn't happen, but so be it.

Rising demand for metals like nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese to make batteries used in smartphones and electric vehicles, along with depleting land-based deposits, has led to increased interest in deep-sea mining. But research suggests that the process of extracting mineral deposits from the ocean floor could destroy habitats and decimate species.

According to a new report from British nonprofit financial think tank Planet Tracker, mining the ocean’s depths could cause as much as 25 times more biodiversity loss than terrestrial mining, reported Reuters. And the financial cost of repairing that damage would be twice as much as extracting it. - EcoWatch