"The decision in Parliament, opposed by environmentalists, will allow prospectors to start surveying the country’s waters."
"The Norwegian Parliament voted on Tuesday to authorize the opening of parts of the Norwegian Sea to seabed mining exploration, a move that reflects rising international demand for the metals needed to build batteries for electric vehicles worldwide.
The decision clears the way for prospectors to look for seabed deposits between Norway and Greenland, mostly above the Arctic Circle, in areas under Norway’s national jurisdiction.
Proposals for mining exploration in both international waters and coastal areas like those off Norway have encountered stiff opposition from environmentalists who say that not enough is known about the life at the bottom of sea to authorize mining.
Initially, the work in Norway will involve collecting information about the amount of metals in the seabed and what harm large-scale mining might cause to aquatic life."
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