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Discover the next big battle between the US and China over underwater uranium mining. The race to extract 4.500 million tons from the seabed is just beginning!
Although the two powers consume more than 30% of the world's uranium, the United States and China are responsible for less than 5% of production, according to data from the 'World Nuclear Association'. This huge difference between what they need and what they have has resulted in a battle that is intensifying due to a great temptation: at the bottom of the oceans there is a huge reserve of uranium to be extracted through underwater mining.
4.500 million tons of uranium at sea
It was in 2012 that the Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency quantified the enormous amount of uranium that was on the seabed: 4.500 billion tons of uranium, floating on the ocean floor, diluted as dissolved uranyl ions. That's a huge amount, a reserve more than a thousand times larger than that found on land, belonging mainly to countries such as Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia, which have the largest mines.
Undersea mining: an extremely complex challenge
The problem is that extracting uranium from these ions is extremely complex. One trick is to use plastic substrates with chemicals similar to uranium, so that the uranium separates. “You get between 2 and 4 grams of uranium per kilogram of plastic,” explained Erich Schneider, nuclear engineer at the University of Texas. But this method was very expensive, about $1.230 per kilogram of uranium, approximately ten times more expensive than traditional mining. It is worth remembering that these calculations are from more than a decade ago.
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The battle begins in the laboratories
At the end of 2023, at the American Chemical Society (ACS), research was published funded by China's National Program that presented a more effective method to capture uranium ions from seawater. The team started with a flexible fabric woven from carbon fibers and added a graphite anode to then pass a cyclic current between the electrodes. With this method, the researchers managed to extract 12,6 milligrams of uranium per gram of active material covered, for 24 days, a much more effective method than those used until then.
This research marked a turning point, as it doubled that achieved by the United States Department of Energy, whose best results with polyethylene fibers obtained around six grams per kilogram. There is a lot at stake, but the truth is that being able to extract uranium from the bottom of the sea is still far from being a real possibility. Research is progressing, but in practice, it would require enormous facilities. The dream of multiplying the planet's uranium capacity tenfold is tempting enough to keep trying.
Environmental impact of underwater uranium mining
A crucial aspect to consider in the race to extract uranium from the sea is the environmental impact. Underwater mining is not without its controversies. Several studies indicate that disturbance of the seabed can have devastating effects on underwater ecosystems. Marine conservation experts warn that extraction efforts could harm as-yet-unknown marine species, alter migratory patterns and affect ocean biodiversity.
International organizations such as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) have already begun to regulate underwater mining. However, some critics argue that current regulations are not sufficient to protect the marine environment, especially in the face of the potential for large-scale resource extraction. Ocean preservation will be a central theme in discussions about how to proceed with underwater mining, and global powers will need to balance the demand for resources with environmental protection.
Parallel technological advances
In addition to uranium, other underwater mining industries are booming, such as the extraction of rare earth minerals essential for manufacturing electronics and electric vehicle batteries. Private companies and governments are already investing in new robotics and automation technologies that will be key to making commercial-scale underwater mining viable. While these technologies are still in their early stages, their success could be crucial to the future of deep-sea mining.
Geopolitics and the race for marine resources
Access to these vast underwater resources could reshape geopolitical relations between the world’s major powers. Countries that currently depend on uranium imports, such as the United States, see underwater mining as an opportunity to reduce their dependence on foreign suppliers, thereby improving their energy security. On the other hand, China, which has invested heavily in the development of underwater mining technologies, is also seeking to establish itself as a leader in the extraction of natural resources from the oceans.
Future perspectives
As the technology continues to develop, underwater uranium mining could become a viable reality in the future. This will require significant advances in extraction techniques and cost reductions. The growing demand for nuclear energy, driven by the need for clean energy sources, could accelerate these developments. Seabed uranium mining represents an unexplored frontier that could redefine the geopolitics of nuclear energy, once again putting the United States and China in a race to dominate this new strategic resource source.
The race for underwater uranium mining is a technological and economic battle that reflects the competition between the world’s great powers. With vast untapped reserves, the seabed could hold the key to meeting future uranium demands, provided the technical and financial challenges can be overcome. Underwater uranium mining would not only solve the uranium shortage, but would also open up new opportunities in the mining industry, driving technological and economic advances in the sector.
