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Malay Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor: Cook Islands explores US$4b mineral trove amid rising environmental concerns
RAROTONGA (Cook Islands), July 23 — A 1,000-tonne ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining. Fringed by sparkling lagoons and palm-shaded beaches, Pacific nation the Cook Islands has opened its vast ocean territory for mining exploration. Research vessels roam the seas searching for deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals that litter the deep ocean's abyssal plains. The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental 'madness'. AFP visited the sunburst-orange MV Anuanua Moana at the Cook Islands' sleepy port of Avatiu, where it loaded supplies before setting sail for the archipelago's outer reaches. 'The resource in our field is probably in the order of about US$4 billion (RM16.9 billion) in potential value,' said chief executive Hans Smit from Moana Minerals, which converted the former supply ship into a deepwater research vessel. It is fitted with chemistry labs, sonar arrays and sensors used to probe the seabed for coveted metals. For two years it has sailed the Cook Islands, halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, gathering data to convince regulators that deep-sea mining is safe. While exploration is far advanced, no company has started mining on a commercial scale. A photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with coveted metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese, onboard the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental 'madness'. — AFP pic Big business 'I want to be mining before 2030,' Smit said from the ship's tower, as whirring cranes loaded wooden crates of heavy gear below. 'Absolutely, I think that we can.' Large tracts of seabed around the Cook Islands are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals. Demand has been driven by the rise of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and durable alloys used in everything from construction to medicine. The Cook Islands lay claim to one of just four major nodule deposits globally. It is 'the world's largest and richest resource of polymetallic nodules within a sovereign territory', according to Australia's University of Queensland. Moana Minerals — a subsidiary of a Texas-based company — owns the rights to explore 20,000 square kilometres within the Cook Islands' exclusive economic zone. 'If we put one mining ship on there, and we started producing metals, we will be one of the largest mines around,' said Smit. A photo taken on June 14, 2025 shows tour guide Ngametua Mamanu greeting tourists after speaking with AFP over the dangers to the environment created by deep sea mining in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. — AFP pic 'Belongs to us' Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. Pristine lagoons lure wealthy tourists that prop-up the economy, fridges are stocked with fish plucked from vibrant reefs, and local myths teach children to revere the sea. Many Cook Islanders fear deep-sea mining could taint their precious 'moana', or ocean, forever. 'I have seen the ship in the harbour,' said tour guide Ngametua Mamanu, 55. 'Why do we need the mining stuff to destroy the oceans?' Retiree Ana Walker, 74, feared foreign interests had come to plunder her island home. 'We think that these people are coming over to make money and to leave the mess with us.' Deep-sea mining companies tout the need for critical minerals to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other 'green' technologies. The idea holds some allure in a place like the Cook Islands, where climate change is linked to droughts, destructive cyclones and rising seas. 'If all goes well, there is good that can come out of it. Financially,' said third-generation pearl farmer James Kora, 31. 'But it relies on how well we manage all those minerals. If the science says it's safe.' A photo taken on June 12, 2025 shows marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. — AFP pic 'Guinea pigs' Marine biologist Teina Rongo squinted into the sunlight as his small boat motored past the Anuanua Moana, an emblem of an industry he views with deep distrust. 'We were never about exploring the bottom of the ocean, because our ancestors believed it is a place of the gods,' said Rongo. 'We don't belong there.' Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie five kilometres (three miles) or more beneath the waves. Most focus on robotic harvesting machines, which scrape up nodules as they crawl the ocean floor. Critics fear mining will smother marine life with plumes of waste, and that the alien noise of heavy machinery will disrupt oceanic migrations. Environmentalist Alanna Smith said researchers knew very little about the deep ocean. 'We'd really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in. 'It's a risky, risky move.' A photo taken on June 12, 2025 shows Edward Herman from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority holding polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals, after speaking with AFP about the future of deep sea mining and it's effects on the small Pacific nation, in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. — AFP pic Powerful friends A US-backed research expedition in the 1950s was the first to discover the 'enormous fields' of polymetallic nodules in the South Pacific. Waves of Japanese, French, American and Russian ships sailed the Cook Islands in the following decades to map this trove. But deep-sea mining was largely a fringe idea until around 2018, when the burgeoning electric vehicle industry sent metal prices soaring. Mining companies are now vying to exploit the world's four major nodule fields—three in international waters, and the fourth in the Cook Islands. The International Seabed Authority meets this month to mull rules that could pave the way for mining in international waters. Although the Cook Islands can mine its territory without the authority's approval, it still has a stake in the decision. The Cook Islands also own one of 17 contracts to hunt for nodules in the international waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, halfway between Mexico and Hawaii. So far, the Cook Islands has said its approach — even in its own waters — would be closely 'aligned' with the authority's rules. But it remains unclear if it will proceed without those regulations. 'We're not setting time frames in terms of when we want to get this started,' said Edward Herman, from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority. 'I think the time frames will be determined based on what the research and the science and the data tells us.' Many of the Cook Islands' South Pacific neighbours want to see deep-sea mining banned. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing indictment in June, saying the 'predatory' industry was environmental 'madness'. But the Cook Islands has powerful friends. It signed an agreement with China earlier this year for the 'exploration and research of seabed mineral resources'. 'There was a lot of noise,' said Herman, referencing the backlash over the China deal. 'And obviously there's a lot of interest... whenever China engages with anyone in the Pacific. 'And we understand, we accept it, and we will continue.' — AFP
Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
A 1,000-ton ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining. Fringed by sparkling lagoons and palm-shaded beaches, the Cook Islands has opened its vast ocean territory for mining exploration. Research vessels roam the seas searching for deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals that litter the deep ocean's abyssal plains. The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental "madness." "The resource in our field is probably in the order of about U.S.$4 billion in potential value," said Chief Executive Hans Smit from Moana Minerals, which converted the sunburst-orange MV Anuanua Moana, previously a supply ship, into a deepwater research vessel. It is fitted with chemistry labs, sonar arrays and sensors used to probe the seabed for coveted metals. For two years it has sailed the Cook Islands, halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, gathering data to convince regulators that deep-sea mining is safe. While exploration is far advanced, no company has started mining on a commercial scale. Big business "I want to be mining before 2030," Smit said from the ship's tower, as whirring cranes loaded wooden crates of heavy gear below. "Absolutely, I think that we can." Edward Herman from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority holds a bowl of polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals, in Rarotonga on June 12. | AFP-JIJI Large tracts of seabed around the Cook Islands are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals. Demand has been driven by the rise of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and durable alloys used in everything from construction to medicine. The Cook Islands lay claim to one of just four major nodule deposits globally. The Pacific island nation is "the world's largest and richest resource of polymetallic nodules within a sovereign territory," according to Australia's University of Queensland. Moana Minerals — a subsidiary of a Texas-based company — owns the rights to explore 20,000 square kilometers within the Cook Islands' exclusive economic zone. "If we put one mining ship on there, and we started producing metals, we will be one of the largest mines around," said Smit. 'Belongs to us' Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. Pristine lagoons lure wealthy tourists that prop up the economy, fridges are stocked with fish plucked from vibrant reefs, and local myths teach children to revere the sea. Many Cook Islanders fear deep-sea mining could taint their precious moana — or ocean — forever. Tour guide Ngametua Mamanu greets tourists in Rarotonga on June 14. Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. | AFP-JIJI "I have seen the ship in the harbour," said tour guide Ngametua Mamanu, 55. "Why do we need the mining stuff to destroy the oceans?" Retiree Ana Walker, 74, feared foreign interests had come to plunder her island home. "We think that these people are coming over to make money and to leave the mess with us." Deep-sea mining companies tout the need for critical minerals to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other "green" technologies. The idea holds some allure in a place like the Cook Islands, where climate change is linked to droughts, destructive cyclones and rising seas. "If all goes well, there is good that can come out of it. Financially," said third-generation pearl farmer James Kora, 31. "But it relies on how well we manage all those minerals. If the science says it's safe." 'Guinea pigs' Marine biologist Teina Rongo squinted into the sunlight as his small boat motored past the Anuanua Moana, an emblem of an industry he views with deep distrust. "We were never about exploring the bottom of the ocean, because our ancestors believed it is a place of the gods," said Rongo. "We don't belong there." Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie 5 kilometers or more beneath the waves. Geology manager John McIntyre inspects polymetallic nodules onboard the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga on June 11. | AFP-JIJI Most focus on robotic harvesting machines, which scrape up nodules as they crawl the ocean floor. Critics fear mining will smother marine life with plumes of waste, and that the alien noise of heavy machinery will disrupt oceanic migrations. Environmentalist Alanna Smith said researchers knew very little about the deep ocean. "We'd really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in. "It's a risky, risky move." Powerful friends A U.S.-backed research expedition in the 1950s was the first to discover the "enormous fields" of polymetallic nodules in the South Pacific. Waves of Japanese, French, American and Russian ships sailed the Cook Islands in the following decades to map this trove. But deep-sea mining was largely a fringe idea until around 2018, when the burgeoning electric vehicle industry sent metal prices soaring. Mining companies are now vying to exploit the world's four major nodule fields — three in international waters, and the fourth in the Cook Islands. The International Seabed Authority meets this month to mull over rules that could pave the way for mining in international waters. Although the Cook Islands can mine its territory without the authority's approval, it still has a stake in the decision. The Cook Islands also own one of 17 contracts to hunt for nodules in the international waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, halfway between Mexico and Hawaii. So far, the Cook Islands has said its approach — even in its own waters — would be closely "aligned" with the authority's rules. But it remains unclear if it will proceed without those regulations. "We're not setting time frames in terms of when we want to get this started," said Edward Herman, from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority. "I think the time frames will be determined based on what the research and the science and the data tells us." Many of the Cook Islands' South Pacific neighbors want to see deep-sea mining banned. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing indictment in June, saying the "predatory" industry was environmental "madness." But the Cook Islands has powerful friends. It signed an agreement with China earlier this year for the "exploration and research of seabed mineral resources." "There was a lot of noise," said Herman, referencing the backlash over the China deal. "And obviously there's a lot of interest ... whenever China engages with anyone in the Pacific. "And we understand, we accept it, and we will continue."
France 24
18 hours ago
- Business
- France 24
Trump a boon for deep-sea mining: industry boss
Moana Minerals wants to mine a swathe of deep ocean in the South Pacific nation for polymetallic nodules, golf-ball sized lumps studded with metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese. Efforts to start commercial-scale production have been dogged by growing calls to ban the industry until its environmental impact is clear. But Moana Minerals boss Hans Smit said fresh momentum was building, citing the support of US President Trump. Trump earlier this year signed an executive order targeted at "unleashing" mineral resources found in the deep ocean. "What he's done is tasked his people to go and look at it seriously," Smit said. "It certainly is helpful that we are engaging with a lot of people that in the past would not give us the time of day. But they are listening." Both the United States and China have signalled renewed interest in deep-sea mining, which could offer a pipeline of critical minerals that helps insulate them from future trade ructions. Trump is eager to weaken China's stranglehold on the coveted metals, which are used in everything from rechargeable batteries to military technology. Cook Islands -- which lays claim to one of the world's biggest deposits of polymetallic nodules -- signed a contentious deep-sea mining cooperation deal with China earlier this year. US-based Smit had a simple message for those worried about China's foray into the industry. "The people yelling at the Cook Islands for talking to the Chinese, I have a very simple statement for them: If you want to counter the Chinese, get off your arse and do something proactive." Cook Islands' Pacific neighbour Kiribati is also exploring a deep-sea mining deal with China. China already holds some of the world's largest deposits of critical minerals and is fiercely protective of its position. Smit said he hoped to start industrial-scale deep-sea mining by the end of the decade. "I want to be mining before 2030. Yeah, absolutely, I think that we can." Frustration The International Seabed Authority -- which oversees deep-sea mining in international waters -- has yet to adopt long-awaited rules governing the industry. Canada-based The Metals Company has indicated it could forge ahead and start mining international waters without the authority's approval, applying instead for a mining permit under obscure and untested US laws. Those laws say US citizens can mine the ocean, as long as their activities lie outside the nation's maritime territory. "I can understand why The Metals Company have done it," Smit said. "I can understand their frustration and empathise with it. "But I still think there's a lot to be unpacked before we're going to have any clarity as to which way it's going to go." The Cook Islands government, which is supportive of deep-sea mining, said it would not set a time frame on when it hoped to have the industry under way. But the government said it remained "aligned" with the International Seabed Authority's approach. "Cook Islands will remain steadfast in our precautionary approach," government spokesman Edward Herman told AFP.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump a boon for deep-sea mining: industry boss
A leading deep-sea mining company in the paradisal Cook Islands is aiming to start commercial production by 2030, spurred on by Donald Trump's recent backing for the much-maligned industry. Moana Minerals wants to mine a swathe of deep ocean in the South Pacific nation for polymetallic nodules, golf-ball sized lumps studded with metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese. Efforts to start commercial-scale production have been dogged by growing calls to ban the industry until its environmental impact is clear. But Moana Minerals boss Hans Smit said fresh momentum was building, citing the support of US President Trump. Trump earlier this year signed an executive order targeted at "unleashing" mineral resources found in the deep ocean. "What he's done is tasked his people to go and look at it seriously," Smit said. "It certainly is helpful that we are engaging with a lot of people that in the past would not give us the time of day. But they are listening." Both the United States and China have signalled renewed interest in deep-sea mining, which could offer a pipeline of critical minerals that helps insulate them from future trade ructions. Trump is eager to weaken China's stranglehold on the coveted metals, which are used in everything from rechargeable batteries to military technology. Cook Islands -- which lays claim to one of the world's biggest deposits of polymetallic nodules -- signed a contentious deep-sea mining cooperation deal with China earlier this year. US-based Smit had a simple message for those worried about China's foray into the industry. "The people yelling at the Cook Islands for talking to the Chinese, I have a very simple statement for them: If you want to counter the Chinese, get off your arse and do something proactive." Cook Islands' Pacific neighbour Kiribati is also exploring a deep-sea mining deal with China. China already holds some of the world's largest deposits of critical minerals and is fiercely protective of its position. Smit said he hoped to start industrial-scale deep-sea mining by the end of the decade. "I want to be mining before 2030. Yeah, absolutely, I think that we can." - Frustration - The International Seabed Authority -- which oversees deep-sea mining in international waters -- has yet to adopt long-awaited rules governing the industry. Canada-based The Metals Company has indicated it could forge ahead and start mining international waters without the authority's approval, applying instead for a mining permit under obscure and untested US laws. Those laws say US citizens can mine the ocean, as long as their activities lie outside the nation's maritime territory. "I can understand why The Metals Company have done it," Smit said. "I can understand their frustration and empathise with it. "But I still think there's a lot to be unpacked before we're going to have any clarity as to which way it's going to go." The Cook Islands government, which is supportive of deep-sea mining, said it would not set a time frame on when it hoped to have the industry under way. But the government said it remained "aligned" with the International Seabed Authority's approach. "Cook Islands will remain steadfast in our precautionary approach," government spokesman Edward Herman told AFP. "We believe that the Cook Islands government and the people can make an informed decision." sft/lb
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
A 1,000-tonne ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining. Fringed by sparkling lagoons and palm-shaded beaches, Pacific nation the Cook Islands has opened its vast ocean territory for mining exploration. Research vessels roam the seas searching for deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals that litter the deep ocean's abyssal plains. The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental "madness". AFP visited the sunburst-orange MV Anuanua Moana at the Cook Islands' sleepy port of Avatiu, where it loaded supplies before setting sail for the archipelago's outer reaches. "The resource in our field is probably in the order of about US$4 billion in potential value," said chief executive Hans Smit from Moana Minerals, which converted the former supply ship into a deepwater research vessel. It is fitted with chemistry labs, sonar arrays and sensors used to probe the seabed for coveted metals. For two years it has sailed the Cook Islands, halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, gathering data to convince regulators that deep-sea mining is safe. While exploration is far advanced, no company has started mining on a commercial scale. - Big business - "I want to be mining before 2030," Smit said from the ship's tower, as whirring cranes loaded wooden crates of heavy gear below. "Absolutely, I think that we can." Large tracts of seabed around the Cook Islands are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals. Demand has been driven by the rise of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and durable alloys used in everything from construction to medicine. The Cook Islands lay claim to one of just four major nodule deposits globally. It is "the world's largest and richest resource of polymetallic nodules within a sovereign territory", according to Australia's University of Queensland. Moana Minerals -- a subsidiary of a Texas-based company -- owns the rights to explore 20,000 square kilometres (7,500 square miles) within the Cook Islands' exclusive economic zone. "If we put one mining ship on there, and we started producing metals, we will be one of the largest mines around," said Smit. - 'Belongs to us' - Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. Pristine lagoons lure wealthy tourists that prop-up the economy, fridges are stocked with fish plucked from vibrant reefs, and local myths teach children to revere the sea. Many Cook Islanders fear deep-sea mining could taint their precious "moana", or ocean, forever. "I have seen the ship in the harbour," said tour guide Ngametua Mamanu, 55. "Why do we need the mining stuff to destroy the oceans?" Retiree Ana Walker, 74, feared foreign interests had come to plunder her island home. "We think that these people are coming over to make money and to leave the mess with us." Deep-sea mining companies tout the need for critical minerals to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other "green" technologies. The idea holds some allure in a place like the Cook Islands, where climate change is linked to droughts, destructive cyclones and rising seas. "If all goes well, there is good that can come out of it. Financially," said third-generation pearl farmer James Kora, 31. "But it relies on how well we manage all those minerals. If the science says it's safe." - 'Guinea pigs' - Marine biologist Teina Rongo squinted into the sunlight as his small boat motored past the Anuanua Moana, an emblem of an industry he views with deep distrust. "We were never about exploring the bottom of the ocean, because our ancestors believed it is a place of the gods," said Rongo. "We don't belong there." Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie five kilometres (three miles) or more beneath the waves. Most focus on robotic harvesting machines, which scrape up nodules as they crawl the ocean floor. Critics fear mining will smother marine life with plumes of waste, and that the alien noise of heavy machinery will disrupt oceanic migrations. Environmentalist Alanna Smith said researchers knew very little about the deep ocean. "We'd really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in. "It's a risky, risky move." - Powerful friends - A US-backed research expedition in the 1950s was the first to discover the "enormous fields" of polymetallic nodules in the South Pacific. Waves of Japanese, French, American and Russian ships sailed the Cook Islands in the following decades to map this trove. But deep-sea mining was largely a fringe idea until around 2018, when the burgeoning electric vehicle industry sent metal prices soaring. Mining companies are now vying to exploit the world's four major nodule fields -- three in international waters, and the fourth in the Cook Islands. The International Seabed Authority meets this month to mull rules that could pave the way for mining in international waters. Although the Cook Islands can mine its territory without the authority's approval, it still has a stake in the decision. The Cook Islands also own one of 17 contracts to hunt for nodules in the international waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, halfway between Mexico and Hawaii. So far, the Cook Islands has said its approach -- even in its own waters -- would be closely "aligned" with the authority's rules. But it remains unclear if it will proceed without those regulations. "We're not setting time frames in terms of when we want to get this started," said Edward Herman, from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority. "I think the time frames will be determined based on what the research and the science and the data tells us." Many of the Cook Islands' South Pacific neighbours want to see deep-sea mining banned. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing indictment in June, saying the "predatory" industry was environmental "madness". But the Cook Islands has powerful friends. It signed an agreement with China earlier this year for the "exploration and research of seabed mineral resources". "There was a lot of noise," said Herman, referencing the backlash over the China deal. "And obviously there's a lot of interest... whenever China engages with anyone in the Pacific. "And we understand, we accept it, and we will continue." sft/djw/sah/lb
