Deep Sea Mining Frontrunner Set To Sidestep UN Oversight , Pivots To US Route
Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist
, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist
Deep sea mining frontrunner The Metals Company (TMC) has confirmed it will not apply for a mining license through the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in June, instead it will exclusively apply through US regulations.
It is unclear what this means for both Nauru and Tonga, who have sponsored TMC at the ISA.
However, the firm's chief executive Gerard Barron said the company would still renew its subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources' (NORI) exploration licence.
"We will be renewing that because NORI is in full compliance. There is no legal basis on which that licence cannot be renewed," he said during the company's first quarter update of 2025.
TMC's mining application through US regulations was made possible through an executive order last month by President Donald Trump.
The company's application covers 25,000 square kilometres in the Clarion Clipperton Zone - located in the international waters in north Pacific between Hawai'i and Mexico.
Barron said the block was "not claimed by any other sovereign".
"While there is an ability to lay claim over grounds currently under license through the ISA by other countries we made a deliberate plan not to do that."
Barron added that Tonga and Nauru are supportive of TMC's moves.
However, China's Ambassador to Nauru Lu Jin said that the US trampled on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by creating a mechanism to allow for deep sea mining outside of the ISA.
During a meeting with Nauru's President David Adeang, Lu said China and Nauru should work together to safeguard Nauru's interests in deep sea mining, adding China would push the ISA to accelerate mining progress.
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition's Phil McCabe said China's deep sea mining interest in the region is growing.
"This is the third Pacific Island country that China has spoken to on deep sea mining and looking for greater cooperation with, following the Cook Islands sealed deal on cooperation and discussions with Kiribati as well."
ISA secretary general Leticia Carvalho claimed the US had no authority to offer permits in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
"Circumventing the regulatory authority of the ISA not only breaches international law, but also erodes trust," Carvalho said.
Carvalho said TMC had been "very pushy" on trying to get mining rules approved at the ISA, so the company pivoting to the US was "not completely unforeseen".
"The new administration of the US aligns with a number of issues regarding employment generation, security, also regarding the fact that they're somehow behind China in possession of the minerals."
Juressa Lee with Greenpeace Aotearoa said the Trump administration is acting outside of multilateralism.
"This sets a very, very low bar and a terrible precedent for other countries, [ISA] member states and wannabe deep sea mining companies to follow."
Despite criticism, TMC's share price has quadrupled since the beginning of this year.
Barron believes the price was held back by a lack of a clear regulatory pathway, which he sees is now secure through the US regulations.
"We believe this US-based pathway offers the greatest probability of receiving a commercial permit in a timely, transparent and legally robust manner, giving us clear line of sight to responsible commercial operations."
Barron expects the commercial recovery permit to be deemed complaint prior to the end of June, TMC will then go through an environmental review if successful.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
King's Birthday Honours – ‘This Belongs To The Samoan Community'
Article – RNZ Anae Arthur Anae has been honoured for services to the Samoan community. , RNZ Pacific Journalist Former National MP Anae Lupematasila Lima Arthur John Anae has received a King's Service Medal in the King's Birthday Honours. Anae Arthur Anae has been honoured for services to the Samoan community. 'On behalf of our community, I'm thrilled for it, because this isn't me. This is not mine,' Anae said. 'This belongs to the Samoan community who stood behind and joined the battle to get justice that belonged to us, and the recognition belongs to all of us, because we've all had to hold hands and and fight this for a long time.' Anae has been part of the push for the Samoa Citizenship Bill, which restores a pathway for citizenship for a group of Samoans who had their right to it removed. He led the Mau o Samoa I le Sitiseni committee from 1997, keeping awareness of the issue alive and supporting the activism of transitional Samoans, which culminated in 24,500 Select Committee submissions on the Bill before its passing. Anae was a list MP from 1996 to 2002, initiating several Pacific initiatives during this time. He was a Manukau city councillor from 2004 to 2010 and an Auckland councillor from 2010 to 2016, chairing the Economic Forum for both councils. Besides politics, Anae is an elder of the Pacific Islanders Presbyterian Church and has chaired its development committee. Hailing from the villages of Falelatai, Apia, Si'umu, and Safotulafai in Samoa, Anae reflects on his parents' journey and their challenges after moving to Aotearoa from Samoa. He said he dedicates the King's Service Medal to his parents, who moved to New Zealand in 1951 when he was five years old. 'All our parents, not just my parents… came out here in the 50s for one reason, to give their children an education, an opportunity. 'We tend to overlook, these days, the people who paved the way for us, and our parents had to sacrifice themselves on factory floors to give their children opportunities for tomorrow, and those opportunities are what we're reaping today. 'I was asked the question the other day, well, who's going to run the mantle after you're gone? I said, there's an army of young Pacific people behind me, highly educated, and they won't be drawn back by the fa'a'aloalo [respect] which has always held us back. 'Palangis (Pākehā) have always said – treated us – our fa'a'aloalo and respect is a sign of weakness. They've got a hell of a lot to learn.' The advocating doesn't end here for Anae, who is currently working on getting one million signatures for a petition on visa-free travel for Pacific countries. 'I'm still battling on two things, and that is the recognition of the woman married to these people or the men as well. 'I still believe in my heart that New Zealand owes these people 50 percent of their pension if they stay in Samoa, where they want to stay, and have the freedom to travel backwards and forward as they want. And these are two issues that I will continue to fight with them, because I believe in it and they're things that are right and should be done.' Asked about the future generations looking at awards like this, he said: 'My only advice for all our people is, whatever we do in life, you do it with a clean heart. 'You don't look at any rewards or anything that might come – they never come. 'Your thinking is based on what you're trying to achieve for people, from your heart, that's what you do; win or lose, you do it.'
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- RNZ News
Early election called in Samoa
world politics 20 minutes ago Samoa will go to the polls almost a year earlier than scheduled, with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa calling a snap election. RNZ Pacific reporter Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai spoke to Corin Dann.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- RNZ News
Papua New Guinea aims to resurrect shortwave radio
NBC Papua New Guinea logo Photo: Facebook / NBC News PNG Papua New Guinea's state broadcaster NBC wants shortwave radio reintroduced to achieve the government's goal of 100 percent broadcast coverage by 2030. Last week, the broadcaster hosted a workshop on the reintroduction of shortwave radio transmission, bringing together key government agencies and other stakeholders. NBC had previously a shortwave signal, but due to poor maintenance and other factors, the system failed. Its managing director Kora Nou spoke with RNZ Pacific about the merits of a return to shortwave. Kora Nou Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koro Vakauta (The transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) Kora Nou: We had shortwave at NBC about 20 or so years ago, and it reached almost the length and breadth of the country. So fast forward 20, we are going to celebrate our 50th anniversary. Our network has a lot more room for improvement at the moment, tthat's why there's the thinking to revisit shortwave again after all this time. Don Wiseman: It's a pretty cheap medium, as we here at RNZ Pacific know, but not too many people are involved with shortwave anymore. In terms of the anniversary in September, you're not going to have things up and running by then, are you? KN: It's still early days. We haven't fully committed, but we are actively pursuing it to see the viability of it. We've visited one or two manufacturers that are still doing it. We've seen some that are still on, still been manufactured, and also issues surrounding receivers. So there's still hard thinking behind it. We still have to do our homework as well. So still early days and we've got the minister who's asked us to explore this and then give him the pros and cons of it. DW: Who would you get backing from? You'd need backing from international donors, wouldn't you? KN: We will put a business case into it, and then see where we go from there, including where the funding comes from - from government or we talk to our development partners. There's a lot of thinking and work still involved before we get there, but we've been asked to fast track the advice that we can give to government. DW: How important do you think it is for everyone in the country to be able to hear the national broadcaster? KN: It's important not only being the national broadcaster, but the service it provides to our people. We've got FM, which is good with good quality sound. But the question is, how many does it reach? It's pretty critical in terms of broadcasting services to our people, and 50 years on, where are we? It's that kind of consideration. I think the bigger contention is reintroduce software transmission. But how does it compare or how can we enhance it through the improved technology that we have nowadays as well. That's where we are right now.
