Mankind has mined the Earth's surface for thousands of years, searching for the metals and minerals

that have made it possible to build our cities, arm our militaries, and develop new technologies.

Now there's a furious race to find even more metal that will enable

the world's energy transition away from fossil fuels, and that furious race leads mining

operators to hunt for deposits in increasingly remote locations.

None more so than the floor of the distant Bismarck Sea

in Papa New Guinea, where one company this summer,

started to dig at what may become the world's first operational deep sea mining site.

Videographer Edward Kiernan and special correspondent Villam Marks

traveled there to witness firsthand this extraordinary new industry, difficult and complex, but also dangerous

and controversial. the island of New Ireland getting out to sea can sometimes prove a struggle.

A new jetty's construction, the completion of nearby buildings remain projects for the future.

But beneath these waves there's a new kind of treasure rush for

copper and gold that may one day soon help to fund them. This quiet pebbly beach on a

remote Pacific archipelago may not look like much,

but just over the horizon a group of sailors and engineers are engaged in a series of scientific tests,

and the wealthy investors behind them hope that one day this lonely beach

might become a gateway to a multi billion dollar industry. A smoke belching

catamaran approaches our ride across the Bismarck Sea named for a long ago Chancellor in Germany which once colonized this region.

Two hot rolling hours later in the distance our destination appears the

mv cocoa. Proud to Stern it measures 270 feet a triumph of maritime technology now 14,000 miles from home.

Several stories high, strong thrusters keep this ship entirely stationary for days at a time, 20 miles offshore and on top of its target

...