Norway has decided to open vast deep-sea areas for exploration of seabed minerals. The first licensing round is now being announced, allowing private companies both to explore and to extract minerals from the ocean floor. The decision to open these areas was passed by the Norwegian Parliament without a thorough public debate.

Now, we are taking the debate to the public and inviting researchers, fishers, business leaders, and politicians to engage in an open exchange of views on deep waters. SALT is hosting seven debates, in seven locations, with seven different themes — shedding light on what deep-sea mining in the darkness of the deep ocean really entails:

Technology (Trondheim – October 23 2024)
Consequences (Bergen – October 24 2024)
The Adventure (Harstad – October 29 2024)
The Debate (Svolvær – October 31 2024)
The Process (Bodø – November 12 2024)
Reputation (Tromsø – November 13 2024)
Knowledge (Båtsfjord – November 14 2024)

The debate series is organized by SALT with funding from WWF Norway.