Canadian company turns to Trump for permission to mine international waters, bypassing a UN agency
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Canadian company announced Tuesday that its U.S. subsidiary submitted applications to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to mine the seafloor, sparking outrage by bypassing a U.N. agency that regulates deep international waters.
The Metals Company said that it was seeking two exploration licenses and a commercial recovery permit, marking the first time a company applies to commercially mine the seabed.
The filing is expected to spark a complex legal battle since the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority, a U.N. agency that regulates international deep-sea waters, has the power to authorize exploitation permits.
'Any commercial exploitation outside of national jurisdiction carried out without the authorization of ISA would constitute a violation of international law,' the authority said in late March after The Metals Company announced its intention to seek permission from the U.S. government to start deep-sea mining in international waters.
There are currently no regulations in place to oversee such mining as scientists warn that extracting minerals from vital ecosystems that help regulate climate change could cause permanent damage.
The filing comes less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order that directs the Secretary of Commerce to expedite the review and issuance of exploration and commercial recovery permits, among other things.
'With these applications, we are offering the United States a shovel-ready path to new and abundant supplies of nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese — critical metals for energy, infrastructure and defense,' Gerard Barron, chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, said in a statement.
Environmentalists and activists decried the move, saying that ISA has the sole power to authorize exploitation permits.
'This unilateral American effort to carve up the Pacific Ocean already faces fierce international opposition,' said Ruth Ramos, Greenpeace's international senior campaigner. 'Governments around the world must now step up to defend international rules and cooperation against rogue deep-sea mining.'
For years, members of the authority's council have debated how and if to allow deep-sea mining. So far, the authority has only issued exploration licenses, with most of the current exploratory activity concentrated in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which covers 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. At least 17 of 31 licenses have been issued for this zone, with exploration occurring at depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters).
The International Seabed Authority was created in 1994 by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is ratified by more than 165 nations — but not the United States.
The Metals Company has argued that the U.S. 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.
'After continuous delay at the international level, the United States now has a clear opportunity to reclaim its leadership role in the deep sea and set a global standard for responsible, science-based deep-seabed resource development,' Barron said.
In late March, the Vancouver-based company announced that it would seek permission from the U.S. to start deep-sea mining in international waters to extract minerals used in electric car batteries and other green technology.
The announcement was made just hours before the council of the ISA met on the last day of a two-week conference focused on how and whether to allow such mining. Scientists have said that a rush to collect minerals that take millions of years to form could unleash noise, light and smothering dust storms deep in the Earth's oceans.
Mining companies have said that harvesting minerals from the seafloor instead of from land is cheaper and has less of an environmental impact.
A spokesperson for the authority didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The authority has said that it has the sole legal mandate to regulate mineral-related activities in the international seabed. It noted that the international legal regime established by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea applies to all states, regardless of whether they are members or not.
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