Norway has made a massive mineral discovery on its continental shelf, with large reserves of copper, zinc, gold, silver, magnesium, cobalt, cerium, titanium, and vanadium estimated to be hidden under the seabed .
The discovery has sparked a debate between environmentalists, who are concerned about the impact of deep-sea mining on the organisms living on the seabed, and the Norwegian government, which is considering granting licenses for the exploration and production of minerals .
The discovery is particularly significant because it is believed to contain phosphates, two other important minerals, vanadium and titanium, that are important components of electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar farms .
