The environmental impacts of the world energy transition: the role of raw materials mining.

Seafloor minerals, many of which can be found in the deep ocean areas of the international waters, have attracted increasing attention over the last years due to the discovery of large volumes of deposits with high metal grades and to the growth in global demand for strategic minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth. At the same time, the growing diffusion of electric vehicle batteries has had an impact on the demand for both land and deep-sea metal ores. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis about the environmental, social and economic impacts associated with land and deep-sea mining operations of metallic minerals such as cobalt and manganese used for the production of EV batteries. In detail, the environmental impacts of both land mining and deep-sea mining have been assessed and compared based on research conducted by a number of countries and organizations all over the world. Additionally, land and deep-sea ores mineralogy, global distribution and technologies used in exploration, extraction, transportation and processing were explored. The regulations and legal status of mining activities in the oceans and deep seas are directly related to the regions in which these activities will be carried out. Conversely, in cases where sea floor mining activities are realized in international waters, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which was established on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea adopted in 1982, is authorized to carry out control and management activities. Taking this into account, the legal aspects of the extraction of these metals were also outlined in this thesis. The comparative study of mining technologies and strategies for the analysed minerals will play an increasingly important role in the future definition of the benefits of a more ethical, environmental and economic transition to green energy.