The race to defend or delay deep-sea mining

The UN's International Seabed Authority (ISA) has begun a crucial round of negotiations in Jamaica to try to reach agreement on the rules governing deep-sea mining, a day after companies were allowed to file for permits to mine the oceans. Defenders of the deep are also ramping up their efforts to stop or at least slow down the process.

The ocean is home to many rare earth minerals and metals that are vital to th