Rare Tales from the Deep Seas

The history of deep-sea mining is rich with tales of international subterfuge, espionage and growing alarm at the imbalance of global access to critical metals and rare-earth elements increasingly precious commodities. I briefly discuss the seabed distribution, elemental composition, and common uses of rare-earth elements. Other strategic seafloor mineral deposits such as cobalt crusts and seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits, or shallow methane gas hydrates, will be considered in a future article.