Deep Seabed Mining
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With land-based mineral sources in decline, the move to mine seabeds is pushing scientists, regulators, and mining companies to collaborate on frameworks and strategies for mining the seabed responsibly.
[ More ]The era of deep seabed mining appears to be dawning, fueled by technological advances in robotics and dwindling land-based deposits. Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold and the rare earth elements vital in manufacturing smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor deep beneath the waves.
[ More ]A group of researchers have called on the International Seabed Authority—which awards mining contracts in international waters—to designate areas as protected habitat in order to counterbalance the negative effects mining operations could have on ocean life.
[ More ]Mining in the deep sea for minerals is uncharted territory, but one company is well on its way to making it a reality. Now, the company is trying to convince skeptical audiences it's a good idea.
[ More ]Deep sea mining could potentially operate with reduced social and environmental impacts compared to those associated with large surface copper mines, according to an independent Environmental and Social Benchmarking Analysis
[ More ]Nonprofit conservation organisation the Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the US Government for permitting controversial large-scale deepsea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
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China has come up with a sweetheart deal to break through India's resistance to its attempt to access the Indian Ocean. It is offering India an opportunity to participate in joint seabed mining in the ocean, which has strong potential of yielding expensive minerals.
[ More ]China's 'Jiaolong' deep-sea manned submersible returned from its maiden 118-day exploratory voyage to the Indian Ocean where it is reported to have discovered large deposits of precious metals like gold and silver.
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The world’s oceans are poised for a seabed mining frenzy amid a “marine industrial revolution” that threatens to destroy habitats and wipe out species, an expert has warned.
[ More ]The latest setback to seabed mining has alarmed companies in resources extraction. Now they are urging New Zealand government to consider changing law to ensure that it does not block economic development.
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By ratifying the treaty, the U.S. will not instantaneously regain its former influence, but it will be a huge step in the right direction compared to its static approach for the past three decades.187 Upon ratification, the U.S. will first regain its seat on the ISA’s Council.188 In addition, the U.S. will gain “important veto rights over distribution of any future revenues from deep seabed exploitation to national liberation groups.”189
Not only will the U.S. regain a seat on the ISA’s Council, but also it will have the ability to participate in the elections of judges for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,190 members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS),191 and other arms of the ISA.192 This is a critical opportunity for the U.S. to place its own representatives in key areas of the ISA to help restore U.S. presence in vital matters concerning the Area.193 Furthermore, by reasserting itself as an authoritative component in the ISA, the U.S. will be better able to sway other nations in the issuing of decisions by the ISA.194 By taking this route versus obtaining a “veto” power over all ISA decisions, the U.S. will be more respected by Member States rather than being seen as a haughty and stubborn Western power as characterized by Molitor.195
Lockheed Martin has already sent American jobs outside the U.S. in order to obtain the benefits from ISA Member States.232 As 2018 approaches, the eyes of the world will turn its focus on Nautilus’ attempt to successfully operate the world’s first deep seabed mining operation.233 The success of the Solwara 1 Project will usher in a new era of opportunity for all, excluding non-ratifying States like the U.S.234 The probable response by other U.S. companies would be to follow Lockheed Martin’s footsteps, triggering the trend of utilizing foreign subsidiaries to operate deep seabed mining businesses, to the detriment of the United States.235