China Becomes Third Nation to Extract Hard Rock from a Deep Ocean Basin

China has successfully recovered hard rock samples from a deep ocean basin at depths exceeding 5,000 metres, state media reported, making it the third country — after the United States and Japan — to achieve this technical milestone. The feat was accomplished using advanced drilling vessels developed domestically, reducing China's reliance on foreign deep-sea drilling contractors and scientific equipment.

The achievement matters for two reasons. Scientifically, accessing hard rock from the oceanic crust provides geologists with data about the composition and age of the seafloor that surface sampling cannot deliver. Strategically, deep-ocean drilling capability is a prerequisite for any future exploitation of mineral resources on the abyssal seabed, including polymetallic nodules containing nickel, cobalt and manganese.

The advancement has drawn criticism from environmental organisations and parts of the scientific community. Extracting hard rock and disturbing the abyssal seafloor can cause irreversible damage to fragile benthic ecosystems — many of which are poorly understood. Sediment plumes and noise pollution from drilling operations pose additional risks to deep-sea life.

The timing is notable. The Metals Company (TMC) separately appointed an ExxonMobil veteran to its board this week as it prepares to push for commercial deep-sea mining. International negotiations over mining regulations under the International Seabed Authority remain unresolved, with proponents arguing for resource security and critics warning that the ecological costs have been systematically underestimated.