San Francisco Frontiers - Namibia paves way for phosphate mining in the Atlantic Ocean

Deep-sea mining seeks to tap previously untouched seabed deposits of a range of commodities, including cobalt and nickel, but the fledgling industry has long been stalled by environmental concerns.

The government certificate issued this month is the next step in plans by Namibian Marine Phosphate (NMP) to dredge the ocean floor around 120 kilometres (75 miles) off the town of Walvis Bay for the key ingredient of fertilisers vital to agriculture.

NMP said the clearance does not mean it will immediately begin commercial mining operations as it still needs to complete permitting, including for the necessary land-based infrastructure.

But the certificate has raised alarm among conservationists, with the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations reportedly threatening to challenge its validity.

Should it go ahead, the Sandpiper Project would be a world-first, with other offshore phosphate mining projects having been held back by environmental concerns.

NMP has said it envisaged controlled dredging across approximately 1.7 square kilometres (0.65 square miles) annually to produce three million tonnes of phosphate concentrate per year.

Over the 20-year licence period, this would represent the equivalent of 0.002 percent of Namibia's seabed, it said after the clearance was announced.

However, "no immediate or urgent commercial operations are planned by NMP," said the group, which is 85 percent owned by an Oman-based mining company.

The government's announcement that the environmental certificate had been cleared ended a decade-long silence about the project.

The group was given a licence in 2011 but came to a standstill in 2013 over concerns about the impact on marine ecosystems and Namibia's multi-million-dollar commercial fishing industry.

- Toxins, fish -

Sediment plumes generated by seabed excavation and processing pose significant risks to ecosystems and public health, said marine scientist Bronwen Currie.

Underwater dredging risks releasing heavy metals and toxic substances trapped deep in the seabed, which could enter the marine food chain and jeopardise commercial fish stocks, she told AFP.

"It is really not a good idea, considering this would liberate very toxic elements from the seabed, as a lot of heavy metals are buried deep in the sediment," Currie said.

And, because phosphate is a low-value commodity, vast quantities must be dredged to make operations viable, she said.

"All of these dangers have not yet been addressed in any of the environmental impact studies," she said.

While Namibia is not unique in having phosphate deposits, other nations have decided against ocean mining, she said. "New Zealand has shown categorically that it is not viable, both environmentally and financially."

Environmental specialist Peter Cunningham told AFP that potential sediment plumes could impact rocky shoreline habitats, crayfish spawning and breeding species.

"It is not worth it for Namibia to experiment on its seabed, putting its marine life and the entire movement of ocean water at risk for something as simple as phosphate," he told AFP..

"If we have a problem with above-ground mines, you can just imagine what the problem would be for underwater mines," Cunningham said.

The Ocean Conservation Namibia non-profit group said the project "threatens to turn Namibia's marine ecosystem into an untested experimental zone, putting our ocean habitats, water quality, and local fisheries at immediate risk."

"Marine phosphate mining at this scale has never been conducted anywhere in the world," it said after the certificate was issued.

"We cannot allow Namibia to become a global guinea pig."

W.Thompson--SFF