More Countries Turn Against Seabed Mining

While the UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) seeks to implement regulations to regulate and enable seabed mining by 2024, several countries have called for these activities to be suspended.

Last week, the ISA Council concluded its first week of meetings to accelerate the development and implementation of seabed mining regulation, with the aim to finalize a framework by July 2023. However, various countries want this deadline to be postponed due to the high environmental and social risk that these business activities engender.

Costa Rica, New Zealand, Chile, Germany, France, Spain, Panama, Fiji and the Federated States of Micronesia called for a precautionary pause in these efforts, citing a lack of studies on the targeted exploration areas. At COP27 in Egypt, French President Emmanuel Macron promoted a ban on deep-sea mining. In addition, Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore and Switzerland announced that no mining contract will be approved until the seabed’s protection can be guaranteed.

“Given the amount of work still ahead…the likelihood that the regulations, standards and guidelines will be finalized by July 2023 is near zero. Uncertainty, especially legal uncertainty, is the last thing anyone needs regarding deep-sea mining. The stakes for humankind are too high,” said Ambassador Hugo Verbist, the Head of Belgium’s ISA delegation.

However, countries such as the UK and Norway said they are convinced the new regulations will be smoothed out by July 2023. Furthermore, China warned that opportunities would be missed if the community only focuses on protecting the environment, instead of looking at the larger picture.

The ISA was established in 1994 to regulate seabed mining and ensure environmental protection in the process. Currently, the organization comprises 167 member countries and the EU. In recent years, the ISA's goal of implementing regulations quickly has faced heavy criticism, as reports by Bloomberg Green, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times have shown that ISA has a close relationship with companies interested in deep-sea mining.

Several analysts and public officials believe the ISA will not be an effective regulator, slowed down by bureaucracy. Pradeep Singh, an ocean governance specialist at the University of Bremen, said the ISA requires the Council's 36 member nations to reach a consensus for these new mining regulations to be authorized. "The presence of a formal objection would result in a deadlock," Singh emphasized.

While Mexico does not carry out deep-sea mining yet, the country has a significant opportunity to do so. It has oceans on two sides and is located right next to the most prolific region for marine mining, the Clipperton Fracture Zone. Mexico’s mineral reserves have been estimated to contain 21 billion tons of polymetallic nodules, which contain about 6 billion tons of manganese, 226 million tons of copper, 94 tons of cobalt and 270 million tons of nickel.