Latest news with #DuncanCurrie
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
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- 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 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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.
The Hill
28-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
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 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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.
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Canadian company seeks US permission to start deep-sea mining as outcry ensues
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 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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.
