Norway's Energy Ministry said that it offered large areas in the Arctic for its first seabed mineral licensing round. It aims to grant exploration permits by the middle of 2025.

Norway could be the first country to begin commercial deepsea mines, in an effort to obtain minerals for solar panels, electric car batteries, and wind turbines to replace fossil fuels.

Energy Minister Terje Aasland stated in a press release that "the world needs minerals to make the green transition. The government wants to investigate if seabed minerals can be extracted in a sustainable way from the Norwegian continental shelf."

According to the government, preliminary estimates of official resources showed that metals and mineral deposits were substantial. These ranged from copper up to rare earths.

The Norwegian Parliament voted to open up about 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq miles) of ocean area between Jan Mayen Island and the Svalbard Archipelagos for seabed minerals exploration in January.

The energy ministry stated that the 386 blocks selected on Wednesday represent about 38% the total area of the area open by the parliament. They were chosen based on input from the industry.

The Norwegian Energy Ministry published a map that shows the proposed offshore blocks in yellow:

Environmentalists have challenged the plans in court.

Greenpeace stated on Wednesday that the proposed blocks were "shockingly huge" given the previous warnings by scientists about the potential impact of the proposed blocks on fragile ecosystems.

The European Parliament and a number countries have also expressed opposition to the plans for seabed mineral exploration. They want a moratorium on all activities to give more time to understand the impacts of the projects on deep-sea organisms.

The Norwegian government said that the initial exploration phase will have minimal impact on organisms living in seabeds, and that consents will be required from companies before production can begin.