Seabed mining body meets amid rising pressure for code

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) kicked off on Monday a two-week meeting expected to be pivotal as the UN body works on the world’s initial regulations for the mining activity, with plans to finalize its decade-long effort to enact a code by 2025.

Gathered in Kingston, Jamaica, until July 26, the 36-member ISA council will negotiate the latest draft of the anticipated seabed mining rules. It will also meet on July 29 to elect a new secretary-general, with Brazilian marine scientist Leticia Carvalho standing against the incumbent, Michael Lodge, a U.K. lawyer.

Despite the absence of formal rules, deep sea mining could technically start this year, as Canada’s The Metals Company (NASDAQ: TMC), one of the players with the most advanced plans to extract key metals from nodules covering the seafloor, is expected to submit a mining licence application either now or some time before the end of 2024.

One of TMC’s ISA contracts is sponsored by the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru, which in 2021 triggered a provision requiring the ISA to enact mining regulations by 2023. The ISA missed that deadline, and so must start accepting licence applications.

Leadership battle

How the ISA will respond to applicants is a key question for the coming weeks. Under existing rules, a mining application must be approved by the group’s Legal and Technical Commission (LTC), which then issues recommendations to the body’s ruling council. For a licence to be granted, it would need the support of one-third of the council’s 36 members.

The issuing of mining licences will also depend on who is elected as the new secretary-general, particularly if regulations are enacted. The individual in this position holds the power to oversee the administrative functions of the ISA and is responsible for negotiating contracts with mining companies. 

The new leader’s commitment to environmental sustainability will impact how strictly environmental assessments and safeguards are enforced, potentially influencing the approval or denial of seabed mining licenses based on habitat impact considerations.

Analysts predict that the election of Carvalho, the head of the marine and freshwater division at the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi, could signal a significant shift from Michael Lodge’s current leadership. Lodge, whose second four-year term concludes in December, has faced criticism for his dismissive stance on environmental opposition to deep-sea mining and his close ties with mining contractors regulated by the ISA.

Trillions of dollars

Ocean floor mining supporters estimate the activity could provide up to 45% of all the world’s critical metal needs by 2065. They also believe that the UN High Seas Treaty agreed in March last year by member countries won’t jeopardize exploration efforts. 

The accord aims to place up to 30% of the world’s oceans that lie outside national boundaries under protection by 2030.

A study commissioned by The Metals Co says that mining metals such as cobalt and nickel from the seafloor dramatically lowers the environmental impact of producing battery metals the traditional way.

Minerals and metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese can be found in potato-sized nodules on the ocean floor. Reserves are estimated to be worth anywhere from US$8 trillion to more than US$16 trillion and they are in areas targeted by potential seabed miners companies, such as TMC.

Exploration for mineral areas in the seabed as of 2021. Credit: ISA

While some countries fiercely oppose the activity until scientists can clearly estimate the potential damage to aquatic ecosystems, others are ready to kick off mining the seabed.

Norway’s parliament greenlit in January seabed mining exploration in the country’s territorial waters. Only five months later, the nation opened up vast areas of its Arctic region for a first seabed mineral licensing round.

Nine countries, including France and Chile, are set to urge the assembly this week to discuss specific policies for safeguarding the marine environment in anticipation of potential mining activities. Last year, a similar proposal was blocked by China.