The future of ocean mining… is a tantalizing subject for those working in the media. The history of marine mining chronicles some of the most pioneering deep-sea missions to date, but realistic commercial operations—scalable in every way—have always seemed beyond reach. Until today, that is, and this renewed enthusiasm and interest is largely down to the staggering levels of investment pouring into developing ever smarter ocean technology.

The environmental concerns associated with ocean mining are well documented—and justifiably so. But scrutiny and speculation are nothing new to offshore developers. What is essential, here and now, is that the ocean mining community maximizes the resources available to make progressively informed decisions, and this how ocean technology will prove instrumental to market development.

Modern day oceanic instrumentation and equipment—increasingly governed by AI, fueled by rechargeable batteries, and wired to the IoT—have forever transformed our ability to compile and analyze robust and reliable ocean data. This information, more and more in the age of scarce resources, will prove invaluable in helping society plot an enduring roadmap to harvesting offshore energy resources, responsibly. And that is, after all, what polymetallic nodules represent: an abundant source of the rare earth metals needed to build out a more sustainable planet.

Ocean tech will need to extend beyond collecting critical data. As we transition from explorative phase to exploitation phase, highly engineered, noninvasive collector systems will make or break the long-term practicality of ocean mining. Historically, developers have been guarded about their collector systems. Intellectual property aside, this caution has probably been influenced by the perceived disconnect between these imposing machines and the notion of the non-disruptive retrieval of sediment-clad nodules.

Clearly, education and transparency are key to stakeholder engagement and a broader societal understanding. The truth is, as we enter the third decade of the 21^st century, we have never been better equipped to assess the opportunities, challenges, and long-term implications of mining the Deep. Further, we have stringent due diligence and regulations in place to keep activities in check. So, for a monthly publication that tracks and celebrates breakthroughs in ocean technology, the future of ocean mining is now.