Researchers say oxygen is being produced on the ocean floor. The mining company funding them isn't happy | CBC News LoadedThe discovery of oxygen being produced on the ocean floor — apparently by ancient lumps of metal — has put the scientists behind the landmark study at odds with the Canada-based mining company that funded them.
The company is now disputing the study's findings, which could throw a wrench in its and others' plans to mine the seabed.collected and examined metallic, plum-sized lumps called nodules from the depths of around four kilometres of the Pacific Ocean's floor, finding that they appeared to be creating oxygen out of seawater through a chemical reaction. The source of energy behind the reaction, along with several other details about how it is occurring, remains a mystery.
It said it is planning a more detailed scientific rebuttal to be published in the coming weeks, involving its own scientists and outside experts. Barron says he still firmly believes this kind of ocean mining is the lowest-impact way to get to these minerals.