The article addresses the question of whether and to what extent deep-sea ecosystems can recover from the mining of minerals on the ocean floor. It states that experimental mining tests show significant immediate damage to biodiversity and community structure on the seabed. It describes long-term monitoring of older test sites, where traces of mining are still visible after decades and the abundance of many species remains reduced. The article reports that some groups of organisms show the first signs of recolonization, but microbial processes in the sediment can be disrupted for a very long time. He points out that connectivity between populations through larval dispersal and the rate at which they can repopulate mined areas remain unclear. It is estimated that deep-sea ecosystems may take decades to centuries to recover, if at all. At the same time, the article presents new research projects and long-term experiments that are intended to more accurately determine the time scales and extent of possible recovery after deep-sea mining.