ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS
CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: And I'm
Audie Cornish. A little over a week ago, filmmaker James Cameron
came back from a submarine trip to the Mariana Trench and he
said this about it. It was a very desolate place, isolated like
visiting another planet. SIEGEL: That illustrates the challenge
of trips to the deepest parts of the ocean, but next year, an
Australian company plans to start mining metal from the sea
floor. If all goes as planned, they will bring copper, gold,
silver and zinc up from the depths off the coast of Papua New
Guinea. NPR's Richard Harris reports this pioneering effort will
target a natural hot spring that is an oasis for marine life.
RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: People have thought about mining the sea
floor's mineral wealth for many decades and now a combination of
high metal prices and sophisticated technology is making that
possible. Nautilus Minerals of Australia has a license from
Papua New Guinea to mine a site