Deep seabed mining as a response to abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? (Un)intended consequences of a new extractive frontier on a land-based producer

Debates surrounding deep seabed mining (DSM) often invoke claims that the industry could alleviate a range of social, ecological, economic, and political harms associated with the extraction of critical minerals on land. These arguments often centre on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which currently supplies 73% of global cobalt. This article critically examines the assumptions underpinning such claims. Examining the International Seabed Authority, the article argues that the erosion and inherent limitations of redistribution mechanisms raise significant doubts about its capacity to mitigate the (un)intended consequences of DSM on land-based producers. The analysis identifies the main narratives advanced by DSM proponents and assesses their implications for the DRC, finding these often fail to take account of the structural embeddedness of the mining sector within the DRC’s socio-economic context and obscure the global economic market drivers of the extractive industry. The article concludes that DSM for critical minerals risks exacerbating the very human rights conditions that DSM proponents purport it will remedy. It cautions against the assertion that a new extractive industry controlled by and for foreign interests, constitutes the solution to harm caused in the DRC by very similar factors.