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These black rocks are loaded with some of the most important minerals in the world today including cobalt, manganese and nickel.
这些黑色的岩石富含当今世界上最重要的一些矿物，包括钴、锰和镍。
Canada-based, the metals company gathered them from off the deep seabed some 5,000 meters down.
这家总部位于加拿大的金属公司从大约5000米深的海底收集了这些金属。
The company has access to about 1.6 billion tons of them, according to CEO Gerard Baron.
据该公司首席执行官杰拉德·巴伦称，该公司拥有约16亿吨稀土资源。
“That's enough to be able to build 280 million mid-sized electric vehicle batteries so enough to electrify the entire USA passenger fleet.”
“这足以制造2.8亿个中型电动汽车电池，足以为整个美国客运车队供电。”
As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, the demand for metals is increasing.
随着世界从化石燃料转型，对金属的需求正在增加。
Meeting global climate goals will require roughly 20 times more nickel and cobalt by 2040 that are used now.
到2040年，要实现全球气候目标，镍和钴的使用量将是现在的20倍左右。
The focus has to be on where can we get a supply of these metals that is secure, but also with the lightest planetary and human impact.
重点是我们在哪里可以获得这些金属的供应，既安全，又对地球和人类的影响最小。
Estimates say there's more of these metals on the seabed than in all of the reserves on land.
据估计，海床上的这些金属比陆地上的所有储量都要多。
And Baron says they come without the human exploitation that plagues cobalt mining in the top producer, the democratic republic of Congo or the rainforest raising seen in the leading nickel supplier Indonesia.
巴伦说，他们没有像世界最大钴矿生产国刚果民主共和国那样的人为开采，也没有镍主要供应国印度尼西亚那样的雨林开采。
But there will be environmental consequences.
但这仍会对环境造成影响。
The deep sea floor is one of the world's most extreme environments but it's not lifeless.
深海海底是世界上最极端的环境之一，但这儿并非没有生命。
Glover's team recently identified more than 5,000 never-before seen species.
格洛弗的团队最近发现了5000多种从未见过的物种。
How they all fit into the ocean ecosystem is a big unknown.
它们如何全部融入海洋生态系统是一个很大的未知情况。
Also unknown is how the noise, light and plumes of mud from mining operations would affect ocean life.
同样未知的是，采矿作业产生的噪音、光线和泥浆会如何影响海洋生物。
The International Seabed Authority is working on regulations for this new industry.
国际海底管理局正在为这一新兴产业制定规章制度。
Glover and others are advising it including on where to put refuges.
格洛弗和其他一些人正为其提供建议，包括在哪里设置避难所。
Meanwhile, environmental groups are calling for a moratorium along with more than 20 national governments and more than 30 major companies.
与此同时，环保组织与20多个国家政府和30多家大公司一起呼吁暂停开采。
