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The United Nations International Seabed Authority (ISA) met today to consider new rules that would allow companies to extract minerals from the seafloor despite growing concerns about the economic and environmental risks.
Supporters say deep-sea mining would help boost the supply of raw materials such as cobalt and nickel needed for the global energy transition, but critics say it could damage ecosystems and disrupt migration routes.
As many as 27 states have called for at least a temporary halt to operations, and Hawaii last week became the fourth U.S. state in the Pacific to issue a full ban.
The 36-member ISA board will meet on July 26 in Kingston, Jamaica, and negotiate the long-awaited final draft of the Mining Code, which is intended to regulate the exploration and mining of “polymetallic nodules” and other mineral deposits on the seafloor.
“I think it will be clear at this session that there is still a long way to go,” said Pradeep Singh, an expert on ocean governance at the Potsdam Institute in Germany. He said countries remained divided over the final text.
Singh said many people were concerned that the code was being implemented without proper due diligence and wanted to delay the process.
While many are concerned about environmental risks, others are seeking clarity on how revenue from deep-sea mining will ultimately be distributed.
The Pacific island nation of Nauru has pushed for a rush to complete its mining code, and whether or not the code is complete, it is expected to submit an application for a mining licence on behalf of Metals Canada (TMC) later this year.
“More and more states are saying no, we are not going to allow this to happen,” Singh said. “The states that have called for a moratorium are still committed to regulatory negotiations, so they are not saying they don’t want deep-sea mining to take place.”
After the council meeting, ISA’s 168-member General Assembly will also meet on July 29 to elect a secretary-general, with Brazil’s Leticia Carvalho running against incumbent Michael Lodge.
Nine countries, including Chile and France, will also call on the General Assembly to discuss specific policies to protect the marine environment if mining is allowed to begin. China blocked a similar proposal last year.
The TMC has recognised that deep-sea mining will have environmental impacts but that they will be less destructive than terrestrial mining and that compromises will need to be made to ensure mineral supply during the transition phase.
Victor Vescovo, an American investor and deep-sea explorer, said that aside from the environmental risks, no one has yet made the economic and technical case for operating heavy industrial machinery in the ocean’s depths, especially as costs rise.
“It’s a bad business case and it’s only going to get worse,” he said.
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