The U.S. Department of Labor just published its 2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. The four metals our autonomous underwater robots will harvest from deep sea polymetallic nodules are nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. All four metals are on this list of labor exploitation. When the harvesting of deep sea minerals scales, we can replace minerals supplied by these countries, avoiding terrible labor practices.
Photo and image credit: U.S. Department of Labor
