Commercial deep-sea mining hasn’t yet begun, but it soon could — with the potential to reshape vast stretches of the ocean as companies move to extract minerals from the seafloor. However, this nascent industry lacks a set of international rules to govern it, and a recent meeting of the regulatory body charged with drafting one has adjourned with big gaps remaining.
Leticia Carvalho, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN-associated deep-sea mining regulator, has stressed the importance of completing the rules to govern seabed exploitation — known as the mining code — by the end of this year. Completing this task has become a critical test for the ISA since the U.S., which is not a member state of the ISA, fast-tracked deep-sea mining plans with apparent disregard for international law.
Completing the mining code would ultimately make the U.S. “a less attractive option for companies” by making any moves to mine outside of ISA regulations “highly problematic,” Carvalho said at a press briefing in response to a question from Mongabay.
“I continue to be very confident and trust that this year there will be great progress … of the mining code that will take the International Seabed Authority from the era of exploration to the era of exploitation of mineral resources in the deep sea,” Carvalho said.
However, the meeting closed on Mar. 19 without a clear timeline for finishing the mining code.
Pradeep Singh of Lisbon-based ocean conservation non-profit Oceano Azul, who attended the ISA meeting as an observer, told Mongabay he believes it’s “highly unlikely” the code will be finished this year.
“We’re making progress, but we still have a lot more that we need to complete before we can get to adoption of a robust set of regulations that truly represents the best interest of humankind,” Singh said.
Key issues that remain unresolved include setting standards and guidelines — such as environmental thresholds — clarifying how resource benefits would be shared and determining whether the regulations will apply to all forms of deep-sea mining or only to polymetallic nodule extraction.
Julian Jackson, the deep-sea mining lead at Washington D.C.-based Pew Charitable Trusts, told Mongabay that the code shouldn’t be rushed.
“This is a frontline novel industry that will be taking place far offshore and far below the surface, and is inherently destructive. So, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that it’s taking a long time.”
While the ISA deliberates, the U.S. is moving forward with plans to mine the deep-sea in both international and domestic waters, following an executive order from President Trump. In January, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. agency that will oversee deep-sea mining in international waters based on U.S. domestic law, approved a rule allowing companies to apply for both exploration and exploitation licenses at the same time. The Metals Company announced it had submitted an application under this new rule.
Banner image: A jellyfish in the genus Botrynema. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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