Deep Seabed Mining
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On Wednesday, the Center for Biological Diversity announced it has settled a federal court lawsuit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, in a move that will compel federal officials to conduct in-depth assessments of the risks to wildlife and underwater ecosystems before issuing permits for the exploration of the ocean floor for rare-earth metals and minerals.
[ More ]The emerging deep-seabed mining industry is making some environmentalists nervous as it could irreperably damage the fragile and undistrubed ecosystem on the abyssal plains.
[ More ]Resource-hungry China is stepping up activity in one of the final frontiers of mineral wealth – the remote seabeds lying kilometres beneath the Indian and Pacific oceans.
[ More ]A slew of recent discoveries in the deep seabed of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Cook Islands have indicated potential new sources of rare earth elements and scandium.
[ More ]A new study finds that the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the site of much interest for mining, "harbors one of the most diverse communities of megafauna to be recorded at abyssal depths in the deep sea" raising questions about the environmental impact of deep seabed mining.
[ More ]As the future of seafloor mining is debated this week, here are five things you need to know about the risks and rewards of extracting precious metals and minerals from the ocean.
[ More ]A scientific expedition has been launched from the UK to explore the mining of rich metal deposits on the deep ocean floor, which are the focus of a new gold rush around the world.
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Pew Environment advocates for a precautionary approach to the emerging deep seabed mining industry, arguing that "[l]arge, ecologically important areas of the seabed should be closed to mineral extraction, and precautionary standards must be adopted by the ISA to minimize environmental damage where mining does occur."
[ More ]Although several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Sudan, have recently shown renewed interest in tapping mineral resources on the deep seabed, the costs of operating in the difficult environment deep waters pose will likely preserve subsea basins for a little while longer.
[ More ]The International Seabed Authority has signed its first exploration contract for seabed mining for 2016. The deal was signed with the U.K. Seabed Resources Limited (UKSRL) and involves a 15-year contract for the exploration of polymetallic nodules in the eastern part of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico.
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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