Warning from the International Union: Deep-sea mining threatens half of mollusks - Sarmad

The world’s largest nature conservation network has warned that more than half of the mollusk species that gather around underwater hydrothermal vents, and hold promising potential in medicine and technology, are at risk of extinction due to increasing deep-sea mining activities.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has renewed its call for a temporary moratorium on these operations ahead of UN-led negotiations on the issue scheduled to take place this month.

A growing number of companies are extracting vital minerals, such as copper, cobalt, and zinc, from the superheated fluids emitted by natural hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.