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RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
International Seabed Authority launches inquiry into deep sea mining firm The Metals Company
The Metals Company Photo: Facebook / The Metals Company The International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council has launched an inquiry into "non-compliance" by deep sea mining front-runner The Metals Company (TMC). The company had previously indicated that it would apply to mine in June through the ISA, despite mining rules not yet being in place. It would do so after triggering a clause known as the "two-year rule". However, TMC is now planning to apply to mine exclusively through United States regulations, circumventing the ISA process. It was made possible by an executive order two months ago issued by President Donald Trump. Duncan Currie, an international environmental lawyer with Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, said the decision for an inquiry, made on Monday, is to find out "the facts and the law in what is a very complex situation". The ISA Council, composed of 36 elected member states, will meet in March 2025 to decide what to do about the findings. Currie said the ISA could suspend or terminate the exploration contracts that TMC has through its subsidiaries if the ISA find noncompliance. Despite applying only through the US, TMC plans on keeping its exploration licenses with the ISA. RNZ Pacific arranged an interview with TMC's chief executive Gerard Barron, who cancelled at the last minute. The ISA Council, composed of 36 elected member states, will meet in March 2025 to decide what to do about the findings. Photo: flickr / ISBA HQ Instead, a TMC spokesperson said its subsidiaries, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI) and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML), are in full compliance with their ISA contracts. "All TMC subsidiaries operate legally under international law and under national laws of their respective jurisdictions," they said. The spokesperson said NORI had conducted more offshore research than any other contractor. Currie said he believed it would be very difficult for The Metals Company to mine even if it got a permit under the US regulations. "The first thing is that there's highly likely to be lawsuits in Hawaii, which is the closest jurisdiction [in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone] I think a lot of groups will be challenging the regulations purporting to allow The Metals Company to mine the seabed area." Currie said TMC also relies on Swiss and Dutch company Allseas for mining technology, and Switzerland is "highly unlikely" to allow the company to move against the ISA. He said processing for cobalt and nickel is carried out in China, and if TMC were to proceed through US regulations, a processing facility would need to be developed in the States. "Basically, the world is a complex, interdependent place, and I think that the metals company is not going to find it as easy as they think to just go there, mine the metals and bring them up." The ISA Council finished on Monday and the assembly meeting has since started.
Scoop
18-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Nauru Could Earn Millions After Backing US Deep Sea Mining Pathway
, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist Nauru is a step closer to mining in international waters under highly contentious United States legislation. The path has been set out in the nation's new agreement with Canadian mining group The Metals Company (TMC) and sits outside international law. News of it comes as delegates from around the world have gathered in Jamaica at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) - the world's deep sea mining authority. Nauru is among the body's 170 members and has special rights to a deep sea mining area of the Pacific Ocean in international waters under international oceans law. This area is known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The ISA's jurisdiction of the CCZ has effectively been challenged by the US, which has claimed its own authority over deep sea mining in international waters through its high seas mining legislation. Nauru has had ambitions to mine in the CCZ for more than a decade. Since 2011, it has partnered with TMC to explore its block of the area for deep sea mining potential. However, after more than a decade of research, TMC has become frustrated by its inability to gain a commercial mining licence through the ISA because the body has not finished developing a mining code. The process began in 2014 and is ongoing. Now, it has backed the US claim as a deep sea mining authority, and international environmental lawyer Duncan Currie of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition said it was pulling Nauru with it. The company, he said, had effectively incentivised Nauru to mine under the US pathway and break international law through the terms of its new contract. These included provisions for millions of dollars in payments to Nauru as well as an option to buy shares in TMC once deep sea mining occurred through US legislation. "[The contract specifically] states [Nauru] will be paid set amounts once the company does engage in seabed mining under the US regime. And it's a significant amount of money. It can be initial payments of US$265 million and can go up to US$515m. "And then on top of that, there are what's called share warrants, which is the ability for Nauru to buy into The Metals Company at a favourable price," Currie said. Meanwhile, potential payment amounts available through the ISA pathway, should mining occur, have been removed from the public version of the new contract. Currie believes it would be a fraction of what had been offered through the US pathway. At the ISA meeting in Jamaica, delegates have raised concerns over the conduct of TMC and the US. While Nauru's new contract had not come up in official sessions, Currie said it was being heavily discussed on the "sidelines" and "in corridors". "France, in particular, referred to what they called the elephant in the room. Then they changed it to a blue whale in the room. "[The contract] basically incentivises countries to breach international law frankly, and it could lead to other countries saying: 'Well, this looks good. We'll do the same thing.' So that's really why it's giving delegates concern. And of course, this kind of rogue mining - which it really would be - poses enormous risks to the deep seabed." The ISA said it would not comment on the contract, and the US agency in charge of deep sea mining - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - referred RNZ Pacific's request to TMC and Nauru. Neither responded. Thirty-seven countries support a moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters. The practice has divided the Pacific. Supporters include Nauru, Tonga and the Cook Islands, while Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand were against it. 'We all belong to the same ocean' - activist Indigenous rights advocate Solomon Kaho'ohalahala was at the ISA meeting for Hawaiian NGO Maui Nui Makai network. He wanted Nauru and mining supporters to consider the whole region. "I want to remind these nation states that we all belong to the same ocean, and that any of their activities that may be detrimental to that ocean is going to have an impact on all of us," he said. Ultimately, Duncan Currie said, Nauru had been backed into a corner in this contract. No amount of money or compensation would fix that, he said, particularly as the country stood to lose a lot. "Nauru, by entering into this agreement, has placed itself well outside international law. "Quite honestly, it is The Metals Company wanting a quick return, and Nauru is left there really getting what they can," Currie said. The new contract between Nauru and TMC is dated 29 May. According to online records of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, it was filed with the agency on 4 June.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Nauru could earn millions after backing US deep sea mining pathway
The Metals Company Photo: Facebook / The Metals Company Nauru is a step closer to mining in international waters under highly contentious United States legislation. The path has been set out in the nation's new agreement with Canadian mining group The Metals Company (TMC) and sits outside international law. News of it comes as delegates from around the world have gathered in Jamaica at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) - the world's deep sea mining authority. Nauru is among the body's 170 members and has special rights to a deep sea mining area of the Pacific Ocean in international waters under international oceans law. This area is known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The ISA's jurisdiction of the CCZ has effectively been challenged by the US, which has claimed its own authority over deep sea mining in international waters through its high seas mining legislation. Nauru has had ambitions to mine in the CCZ for more than a decade. Since 2011, it has partnered with TMC to explore its block of the area for deep sea mining potential. However, after more than a decade of research, TMC has become frustrated by its inability to gain a commercial mining licence through the ISA because the body has not finished developing a mining code. The process began in 2014 and is ongoing. Now, it has backed the US claim as a deep sea mining authority, and international environmental lawyer Duncan Currie of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition said it was pulling Nauru with it. The company, he said, had effectively incentivised Nauru to mine under the US pathway and break international law through the terms of its new contract. These included provisions for millions of dollars in payments to Nauru as well as an option to buy shares in TMC once deep sea mining occurred through US legislation. "[The contract specifically] states [Nauru] will be paid set amounts once the company does engage in seabed mining under the US regime. And it's a significant amount of money. It can be initial payments of US$265 million and can go up to US$515m. "And then on top of that, there are what's called share warrants, which is the ability for Nauru to buy into The Metals Company at a favourable price," Currie said. Meanwhile, potential payment amounts available through the ISA pathway, should mining occur, have been removed from the public version of the new contract. Currie believes it would be a fraction of what had been offered through the US pathway. At the ISA meeting in Jamaica, delegates have raised concerns over the conduct of TMC and the US. While Nauru's new contract had not come up in official sessions, Currie said it was being heavily discussed on the "sidelines" and "in corridors". "France, in particular, referred to what they called the elephant in the room. Then they changed it to a blue whale in the room. "[The contract] basically incentivises countries to breach international law frankly, and it could lead to other countries saying: 'Well, this looks good. We'll do the same thing.' So that's really why it's giving delegates concern. And of course, this kind of rogue mining - which it really would be - poses enormous risks to the deep seabed." The ISA said it would not comment on the contract, and the US agency in charge of deep sea mining - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - referred RNZ Pacific's request to TMC and Nauru. Neither responded. Thirty-seven countries support a moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters. The practice has divided the Pacific. Supporters include Nauru, Tonga and the Cook Islands, while Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand were against it. Indigenous rights advocate Solomon Kaho'ohalahala was at the ISA meeting for Hawaiian NGO Maui Nui Makai network. He wanted Nauru and mining supporters to consider the whole region. "I want to remind these nation states that we all belong to the same ocean, and that any of their activities that may be detrimental to that ocean is going to have an impact on all of us," he said. Ultimately, Duncan Currie said, Nauru had been backed into a corner in this contract. No amount of money or compensation would fix that, he said, particularly as the country stood to lose a lot. "Nauru, by entering into this agreement, has placed itself well outside international law. "Quite honestly, it is The Metals Company wanting a quick return, and Nauru is left there really getting what they can," Currie said. The new contract between Nauru and TMC is dated 29 May. According to online records of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, it was filed with the agency on 4 June.
Scoop
26-04-2025
- Business
- Scoop
US Executive Order Opens Up Deep Sea To Mining, Flouting International Law, Endangering Ocean Health
25 April The U.S. government has issued an executive order enabling U.S. companies and subsidiaries to apply for licenses to mine the deep-sea in international waters under the Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Resources Act, originally designed to regulate mining activities until the U.S. could formally adopt the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In response to the order, leading ocean experts issued the following statements: Dr. Douglas McCauley, a professor at UC Santa Barbara and adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said: 'This executive order is a great gift to China's economy. Up until today, most countries have been sitting around the same table in the International Seabed Authority, carefully negotiating binding mining regulations to ensure the equitable sharing of benefits from resources mined in international waters. The U.S. is attempting to subvert that controlled process. "The US has stepped forward to become the first pirate mining operation in international waters. With rules, we could have controlled the minerals that China or any country or person would take from this part of the ocean. But without any rules, China, simply put, will be far better at winning. "For example, these metals at the bottom of the ocean were recently discovered to be radioactive. It is difficult to imagine any community in the US that would want a mountain of these radioactive metals processed in their backyard. Other countries may be less squeamish about such things. "The grand irony is that we just unleashed a gold rush - but a gold rush for fool's gold. In our fever to get at these ocean minerals - the US seems to have neglected to run the numbers. The cobalt and nickel that could be mined from the ocean floor would be the most expensive cobalt and nickel mined anywhere on the planet. We just committed US taxpayers to something akin to the $400 military hammer scandal. Cobalt and nickel are in oversupply today and can be bought with a click on international metal markets at a fraction of the cost. The US just signed on the dotted line for a very bad economic deal.' Duncan Currie, legal and policy advisor, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, said: 'The decision by the United States to unilaterally pursue deep-sea mining is a breach of international law with dire consequences for every country and person who benefits from the ocean as our common heritage. It upends more than 40 years of legal precedent in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, threatens to destabilize ocean governance globally and is an insult to the peoples and countries across the Pacific that this move will most impact.' Victor Vescovo, founder and CEO, Caladan Capital, and retired naval officer, industrial investor and undersea explorer, said: 'Deep Sea Mining is an untried, technically difficult, very expensive, and financially risky experiment to secure only two scarce metals available from seafloor mining, nickel and cobalt, that are no longer essential for making electric vehicle batteries. These two metals can also be secured for national security by other, more reliable and cheaper means, or stockpiling. As for Rare Earth Metals or lithium, neither are available in meaningful quantities from seafloor mining. Pursuit of commercial Deep Sea Mining has a very great probability of becoming the Republican Party's version of the Solyndra embarrassment.' Bobbi-Jo Dobush, ocean conservation policy expert and author of 'Deep Sea Mining Isn't Worth the Risk,' said: 'Deep-sea mining is fundamentally an unproven and high-risk endeavor, beset by significant technical, financial and regulatory uncertainties that carry substantial risk for investors. The Metals Company is promising certainty where none exists.' The experts above are available to discuss why: A rush to mine the deep sea would create economic hardship and geopolitical harm for the U.S. without apparent gains. Experts project deep-seabed mining to be economic folly – generating some of the most expensive cobalt and nickel ever mined on the planet. U.S. action would likely trigger a 'fool's gold' rush to mine the deep sea from competitors such as Russia and China, causing irreparable harm to vulnerable marine ecosystems and ocean health. The release of toxic materials associated with mining represents a risk to public health globally through seafood contamination. Deep-sea mining poses immense risks to marine habitats and ocean biodiversity.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canadian company seeks US permission to start deep-sea mining as outcry ensues
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An abrupt announcement rattled members of a little-known U.N. agency based in Jamaica that has protected international deep-sea waters for more than 30 years. The Metals Company in Vancouver, Canada said late Thursday that it is seeking permission from the U.S. government to start deep-sea mining in international waters, potentially bypassing the International Seabed Authority, which has the power to authorize exploitation permits but has yet to do so. 'It would be a major breach of international law…if the U.S. were to grant it,' said Duncan Currie, an international and environmental lawyer and legal adviser to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a Netherlands-based alliance of environmental groups. The Metals Company seeks seafloor minerals like cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese used in electric car batteries and other green technology. The announcement was made just hours before the 36-member council of the International Seabed Authority met in Jamaica on Friday, the last day of a two-week conference focused on how and if to allow deep-sea mining, a years-long debate. The authority was scheduled to talk Friday about the company's commercial mining application. 'The scale of the threat…has been taken incredibly seriously here,' said Louisa Casson, a campaigner at Greenpeace who attended Friday's meeting. 'There are questions and a lack of clarity of what they actually plan on doing.' She said one question is whether the company plans to request a permit anyway from the authority even as it continues talks with the U.S. government. Currie said the timing of The Metals Company's announcement was 'insulting to the ISA.' 'It's an extremely irresponsible threat. It's basically holding a gun to the international community,' he said. The International Seabed Authority was created in 1994 by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is ratified by more than 165 nations — but not the United States. The Metals Company argued that the United States' seabed mining code would allow it to start operations in international waters since it's not a member of the authority and therefore not bound by its rules. The company said it was already in discussions with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others. 'We have met with numerous officials in the White House as well as U.S. Congress regarding their support for this industry,' the company said in a statement. NOAA said in a statement that The Metals Company USA LLC, has requested a pre-application consultation with the agency to learn more about the formal license application process for deep-sea mining. It said such applications are reviewed for compliance and requirements. 'The process ensures a thorough environmental impact review, interagency consultations and opportunity for public comment,' NOAA said. The Metals Company criticized what it said was 'slow progress' by the International Seabed Authority on a proposed mining code that has yet to be finalized. The authority has issued more than 30 exploration licenses but no provisional licenses. Most of the current exploration is happening in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which covers 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. It is occurring at depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters). More than 30 countries including Canada have called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep-sea mining, and companies including Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, Google and Samsung have pledged not to use seafloor minerals. 'The international seabed is the common heritage of humankind, and no state should take unilateral action to exploit it,' Greenpeace said in a statement. Scientists have warned that minerals in the ocean's bowels take millions of years to form, and that mining could unleash noise, light and suffocating dust storms. 'The deep ocean is one of the last truly wild places on Earth, home to life we're only beginning to understand. Letting deep-sea mining go forward now would be like starting a fire in a library of books nobody's even read yet," said Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. However, companies have argued that deep-sea mining is cheaper and has less of an impact than land mining. Dánica Coto, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
