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Critical knowledge – Critical technology – Critical minerals

We are pleased to announce that one of the leading international conferences on Deep Sea Minerals will be organized for the fourth time in 2025. The event will take place in Bergen, Norway from 01-03 April 2025.

The initial conferences attracted a large and diverse group of stakeholders from across the globe, including exploration companies, service providers, academic professionals, politicians, environmental advocates, regulatory bodies, and individuals with expertise in law and finance. With the industry's imperative to establish connections, exchange knowledge, and draw on each other's expertise, we are certain that another well-attended and stimulating conference lies ahead of us.

A momentous year ahead

As we enter 2025, a new global industry is emerging. Norway has been recognized as a hotspot for deep-sea minerals since it enacted the Seabed Minerals Act in 2019. Although the anticipated licensing round, originally scheduled to begin in 2025, has been postponed for at least another year, exploration companies and the surrounding ecosystem are actively preparing for future activities within Norway's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

In international waters, many companies are positioning themselves in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean as the International Seabed Authority is working towards completing the exploitation regulations. State-sponsored institutes and commercial companies are conducting extensive surveys, leading to significant advancements in our understanding of the environment, operational challenges, and the resource itself – polymetallic nodules.

In another part of the Pacific Ocean, the Cook Islands authorities oversee the exploration efforts of three companies that were granted licenses around two and a half years ago.

There have not least been notable developments in research and technological advancements in countries including Japan, China, and India. Japan continues collecting data and testing technology and equipment. Large-scale extraction may begin by the end of 2025. In 2024, China completed its first mining equipment test at depths below 4,000 meters, strongly suggesting that it is catching up to other nations in the race to begin mining. India continues its efforts to explore and exploit the deep sea through the Deep Ocean Mission, a five-year program launched in 2021.

Globally, knowledge-building and technological advancements are progressing rapidly as the industry evaluates transitioning from exploration to exploitation. We invite companies, institutions, and academia developing new methods, workflows, and technology or showing outstanding results in deep-sea minerals research to submit an abstract.

We invite contributions within the following topics:

• Advancements in understanding the deep-sea environment
• Strategies, challenges, and opportunities for effective environmental assessment and monitoring
• Exploration strategies and technology: Methodologies, workflows and technologies
• Data management and digital solutions: Case studies and evaluations of DSM data sets, best practices
• Innovations in deep sea mineral extraction – technologies and recent advancements
• Advancements in deep sea mineral processing
• Insights and synergies from land-based mining throughout the value chain
• Regulations and legal frameworks in deep-sea mineral resource management

The program committee welcomes contributions on the topics from all relevant regions across the globe. We encourage postgraduate students to submit their work.

Take the plunge and join us to share your knowledge at the upcoming conference by sending your abstract to events@geopublishing.no by 9 January 2025.