Deep-sea metal mining in Cook Islands

This ship is at the Cook Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. It's here for a reason.

These balls, or "nodules", contain different metals. The metals, like cobalt, are necessary for electric cars and mobile phones.

The metal nodules might make lots of money. This businessman's from Moana Minerals.

Hans Smit: "The resource in our field is, is probably in the order of about $4 billion in, in potential value. So that's value, that doesn't mean how much money you're gonna make. Obviously, there's costs and so forth that go against it. But when we look at our economic analysis, the project is profitable."

The metals can make money. But some people are unhappy about it. Tourism's very important for the island. Tourists visit the islands for the blue water and fish.

Alanna Smith fights for the environment. She's worried. This new industry could stop tourists.

Alanna Smith: "We'd really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in, blinded, I would say, by not really being made aware of the risks involved. So yeah, it could have long-term implications in terms of our credibility as a tourist destination. It's, it's a risky, risky move."

The Cook Islands own the sea around them. So the country can decide what to do. The metal balls would help the islands and the people.

But the problem isn't just about tourists. Getting the nodules out will be difficult. Companies will have to dig 5,000 metres under the sea.

The nodules will help produce green energy. But finding them could be bad for the environment. The answer isn't easy. View Less