More than 20 financial institutions worldwide have publicly vowed not to finance deep-sea mining — an activity scientists say could cause irreversible harm to ocean ecosystems.  However, a DW investigation has found that some have invested at least $684 million (€581 million) in companies linked to the industry. Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into companies racing to extract nickel, cobalt, and copper for batteries and other industrial uses from deposits buried thousands of meters