2023-11-09 09:14:03
SAN JUAN (AP) — The debate over proposed regulations for seabed mining will continue into next year after the UN agency that oversees the international seabed concluded its last meeting of the year on Wednesday.
The ongoing debate has generated growing concern over the possibility of a company or country being the first in the world to apply for an operating license before a regulatory legal framework is in place.
Juan José González, president of the council of the International Seabed Authority, told reporters that if a request of this type were presented, the institution would be obliged to discuss it.
“We would prefer, of course, to have legislation in place,” he said.
Michael Lodge, secretary general of the agency, said the council hopes to have a draft mining code by 2025.
But a Canadian company, whose subsidiary is expected to be the first to apply for a deep-sea mining permit, declared late last week that it hopes to do so by mid-2024.
Corey McLachlan, of The Metals Company, highlighted that, although any country or company now has the legal right to apply for that license, “we are willing to give (the agency) that additional time and effort.”
The International Seabed Authority has granted more than 30 exploration licenses, but none for exploitation.
Exploration is taking place in an area of 4.5 million square kilometers (1.7 million square miles) between Hawaii and Mexico, at a depth of up to 6,000 meters (19,000 feet).
Among the holders of these permits is Nauru Ocean Resources, Inc, a subsidiary of The Metals Company, which is working with the government of the small Pacific island nation of Nauru, which has lobbied for deep-sea mining.
Those seeking to launch mining operations of this type say they respond to the increase in demand for metals such as copper, nickel and cobalt, used in clean energy technologies. In addition, they maintain that it is cheaper than land mining and has less environmental impact.
But scientists and environmental activists warned that such exploitation could cause noise, light and suffocating dust storms, and that not enough is known about the deep sea, of which less than 1% has been explored.
More than 20 countries have called for a moratorium or ban, and companies such as BMW and Samsung have pledged to avoid using minerals mined from the deep ocean.
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