Maritime Affairs Program (MAP) Handbill Spotlight

Recent Events

As global development and the transition to renewable energy both contribute to an increase in long-term demand for valuable and critical minerals, businesses are expressing more interests in the commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals as an alternative or as an additional option to land-based mining. However, the rising commercial interests are contrasted with gaps in international governance. In June 2021, the Republic of Nauru notified the ISA that it hopes to sponsor an exploitation project in the Area, and thus officially requested the ISA to complete negotiations and adopt regulations on deep-sea minerals exploitation in two years, before June 30, 2023. The ISA adopted several regulations on the exploration of deep-sea minerals in the 2010s, but was still preparing and revising draft regulations on exploitation at the time. Meanwhile, a number of environmental advocates and researchers have argued that deep-sea mining could cause significant and irreversible damage to biodiversity and ocean ecosystems, and that more studies should be conducted before large-scale commercial activities can be allowed. Accordingly, a number of countries including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have proposed a moratorium of deep-sea mining, while France has called for a complete ban on the practice. The ISA’s 28th Assembly session, held in July 2023, did not reach a conclusion on either the exploitation regulation or the moratorium, and negotiations are expected to resume during the ISA’s next meeting in March 2024.

At the same time, movements towards deep-sea mining and corresponding controversies are also observed within national jurisdictions. On January 9, 2024, the government of Norway decided to open up 280,000 square km (108,000 square miles) of its national waters for deep-sea minerals exploration operations. While some experts have criticized the development as a step towards Norway’s opening up to commercial exploitation, others defended the move either as a necessary prerequisite to learn more about the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining, or as a way to fulfill the world’s needs for critical minerals. In the same vein, Cook Islands said in July 2023 that the country would “proceed with caution” to assess the feasibility of deep-sea mining in its national waters, while Japan announced plans to start extracting critical minerals from its seabed as early as 2024.

Keep In Mind

When UNCLOS was signed in 1982, deep-sea mining was only a concept—an idea for the future given the relatively abundant access to metals and minerals at the time. Today, 22 contractors sponsored by more than 20 countries have applied for and obtained exclusive rights to examine the feasibility of deep-sea mining in international waters. As demands for critical minerals continue to be on the rise given their significance in renewable energy, electric vehicles and critical technologies, and as accessible land-based resources simultaneously start to deplete, business and political interests in deep-sea mining will only increase. 

National and international governance of deep-sea mining will face different challenges. As an increasing number of countries express interests to open up their waters to deep-sea mining, both businesses and environmentalists will need to familiarize themselves with a variety of jurisdictions to balance economic interests and environmental concerns. At the international front, much attention will be drawn to the ISA and to its ability to make rules on deep-sea minerals exploitation. At the same time, it should be cautioned that, although the United States recognizes UNCLOS as customary international law, the U.S. is not a party to the Convention and, thus, has not been a member of the ISA since its establishment in 1994. This may become an issue of concern as the international community proceeds to govern and make rules about deep-sea mining through the UNCLOS and the ISA framework.