Deep Sea Mining Exploration

The International Seabed Authority, made up of 167 Member States, and the European Union, commissioned Model Maker Studio to create a diorama showing future claims for the mining of polymetallic nodules. Polymetallic nodules are essential for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries and moving the world to cleaner energy. Using deep sea GIS, a 3 million sq km of seafloor terrain near Baja California was textured and 3d printed as tiles to form a 6’ x 4’ seabed base. A infographic overlay showing all the areas being explored by the different nations was created and printed on laser cut plexiglass. This model is part of a permanent exhibition at the ISA headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica. The ISA is responsible for this future large scale mineral mining activity and making sure its done safely, with minimal environmental impact and for the benefit of mankind as a whole.