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Cook Islands Nodule Mining – Photo taken within the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone.
photo: Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority
The chief executive of a deep-sea mining company that is leading the world in seabed mining in international waters said the company could start mining as early as 2026, although work on developing regulations is still underway.
Deep-sea mining involves extracting potato-sized pieces of rock, called nodules, filled with valuable metals, from the ocean floor at depths of kilometres.
Most environmental charities and a growing number of countries oppose deep-sea mining, but companies and countries keen to make it happen argue it is necessary if the world is to move away from fossil fuels.
During a meeting of Pacific Islands Forum leaders in Tonga this week, Metals CEO Gerard Barron reiterated that he is keen to start mining soon in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, located in the international waters between Hawaii and Mexico.
He said the company would submit an application to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in the coming months.
“Once it is received and assessed by the regulator, we hope to get the licence and move from the exploration phase to the production phase in 12 months, when we already have the first production vessel and have done some modifications to it and are ready to go into production,” he said.
“We already know where we want to take care of these nodules, so it’s really just the regulatory hurdles that lie ahead of us now.”
There are currently no rules specifically designed to regulate high seas mining.
International Seabed Authority flag
photo: flickr / ISBA Headquarters
However, the company may be able to get around that stumbling block because Nauru gave UN regulators two years’ notice of its intention to start mining.
This exploits a legal loophole that forces the ISA to consider the operating plans of any company sponsored by Nauru – even if relevant regulations have not yet been drawn up.
Meanwhile, a growing number of countries are calling for a precautionary moratorium, or pause, on deep-sea mining, which Barron believes is misguided.
“They were working on a set of facts that were fed to them by a group of elites, mainly NGOs, and I said to them, ‘Let’s be science-driven, why don’t you see the scientific projects we are implementing and the results they are producing’.”
Deep-sea mining is inevitable, he said, and the best place to start is in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
“If there is any place to start this activity, it would be the right place to start it, more than 1,000 miles from any human habitation, or in the deep ocean where the amount of life is measured in grams per square meter.”
The Deep Sea Mining Campaign has warned that species such as sperm whales could be adversely affected if nodule mining is allowed in the Pacific Ocean.
photo: William
“A holistic view of science”
Phil McCabe, an ocean activist with the Deep Sea Conservation Alliance, disagrees with Barron’s reading of the science.
He expressed support for a moratorium requirement for the industry.
“I agree with him that we do need to listen to the science and not make it up, and we need to look at the science holistically and listen to the more than 800 scientists and ocean policy experts who say that seabed mining, deep sea mining, should not begin until significant knowledge gaps are filled.”
He said Barron’s said it would apply for a license soon because the company was short on cash and its stock price was less than a dollar.
“I think Gerard Barron is holding shareholders and the market accountable to expect them to file because he’s been pushing that timetable back by six months or so over the last three or four years.”
Pacific countries and regions are divided on the issue, with Nauru, the Cook Islands and Tonga all showing some interest.
Other Pacific countries have also expressed opposition, such as Tuvalu Added to precautionary suspension list last month Along with four other countries.
“There are now 32 countries that have explicitly called for a moratorium or precautionary moratorium on fishing in international waters, in addition to many territories, most recently, such as American Samoa and Hawaii,” McCabe said.
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