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New deep sea mining rules lack consensus despite US pressure
New deep sea mining rules lack consensus despite US pressure

France 24

time3 days ago

  • Business
  • France 24

New deep sea mining rules lack consensus despite US pressure

Following a meeting in March and the current session in Jamaica, the 36 members of the ISA's executive council completed on Thursday a line-by-line reading of the proposed "mining code" and its 107 regulations for exploitation of the ocean floor in international waters. The minerals and metals in question, such as cobalt, nickel and manganese, are used for electric vehicles and other emerging technologies. "This marks a significant milestone," council president Duncan Muhumuza Laki said to applause. But after more than a decade of talks, crucial sections of the proposed rules including mechanisms for protecting the marine environment are far from winning consensus, and several delegations have publicly opposed calls from Laki to work quickly to finalize the code this year, as envisioned in a 2023 roadmap. "The exploitation activities cannot begin as long as we do not have a solid, equitable framework," Chilean representative Salvador Vega Telias, whose country is one of 37 asking for a moratorium on deep sea mining, told the plenary session. He also said mining could not begin until experts could pinpoint "all the scientific knowledge that we need to have to identify the potential impacts and effects on the marine environment." For ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho, "the deep sea needs rules." But, she added, "I firmly believe that the success of deep sea governance will depend on our ability to draw from robust science, inclusive dialogue, and the wisdom to act with precaution." Message for Canadian mining firm? The ISA session, which will continue next week with the assembly of all 169 member states, comes as US President Donald Trump threw a monkey wrench into the process in April. The Republican instructed his administration to fast-track the granting of permits for deep sea mining in domestic and international waters, citing an obscure 1980 US law and sidestepping the process undertaken by the ISA. The United States is not party to the independent ISA or to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), under which the ISA was established in 1994. Canada's The Metals Company (TMC) quickly jumped at the opportunity, lodging the first request for a high seas mining license -- a short-circuiting of the ISA process that was slammed by non-governmental organizations and some member states. Those parties appear to want to send a message to TMC on Friday, the last day of the council's session. A draft text still under discussion, seen by AFP, calls on the ISA's legal and technical commission to investigate "possible issues of non-compliance of contractors that may arise out of the facilitation of or the participation in actions intended to appropriate resources... contrary to the multilateral legal framework." The draft calls on the commission to report any instances of non-compliance or potential violations of the Law of the Sea and "recommend, where appropriate, measures to be taken by the Council." Nori (Nauru Ocean Resources Inc.), a subsidiary of TMC, has held since 2011 an exploration contract for an area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean, which expires in one year. The Canadian firm had hoped to be the first recipient of an ISA-awarded commercial mining license to be used in that area, before pivoting to apply to Washington to work there. 'Common heritage' The talks in Kingston have been tense at times, with several delegations miffed about the rules put in place by the council president, including convening some negotiations behind closed doors. What the council is discussing currently is the common heritage of humankind," Emma Watson of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an alliance of NGOs, told AFP, criticizing what she called a "big shift" in procedure. Ocean defenders have battled against what they say is the advent of an industry that will threaten isolated ecosystems, which have still not been thoroughly studied. Company executives and some countries say the world needs these strategic minerals and metals to propel clean energy technologies, such as electric cars. © 2025 AFP

Nauru could earn millions after backing US deep sea mining pathway
Nauru could earn millions after backing US deep sea mining pathway

RNZ News

time4 days ago

  • 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.

African state partners with Russia to boost gold revenues
African state partners with Russia to boost gold revenues

Russia Today

time16-06-2025

  • Business
  • Russia Today

African state partners with Russia to boost gold revenues

Mali's government will partner with the Russian Yadran Group to establish a state-owned gold refinery aimed at increasing national revenues from bullion production, Reuters reported on Friday, citing the West African country's economy and finance minister. According to Alousseni Sanou, the joint company SOROMA-SA will be majority-owned by the Malian state with a 62% stake, while Yadran will hold the remaining shares. He said the facility would be constructed on a five-hectare site near the international airport in the capital, Bamako and is expected to process up to 200 metric tons of gold annually, almost four times Mali's current capacity of roughly 50 tons. The country's transitional legislative body approved the shareholding structure earlier last week, the officials said, adding that the new firm will support miners in meeting new requirements introduced by the revised mining code. The Sahel state is Africa's second-largest gold producer, according to latest report by the World Gold Council. In 2023, Bamako's new leadership, which came to power after a 2020 coup, introduced a revised mining code allowing the government to claim up to a 30% stake in new projects in an effort to boost state revenues amid rising gold prices. The move, which aligns with similar policies adopted by governments in neighboring Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger, also seeks to raise gold royalties and mandate domestic gold processing. Mali currently exports most of its raw gold due to limited refining capacity. Bamako's Mines Ministry reportedly stated that the country's two existing refineries lack international certifications, such as from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which restricts access to global markets. On Friday, Reuters cited a senior official from the Malian Mines Ministry as saying that the partnership with Russia's Yadran is intended to help Bamako secure certification and comply with international trading standards. The Malian-Russian refinery project is being launched amid escalating tensions in recent months between military-led governments in the Sahel and Western mining companies. Late last month, Canadian company Barrick Mining appealed to the World Bank's arbitration tribunal to resolve a legal dispute with Mali, where it risks losing control of its gold operations. Barrick holds an 80% stake in the country's Loulo-Gounkoto mines, with the Malian government owning the remaining 20%. The mines, which produced nearly 700,000 ounces of gold in 2023, have been shut since January, after the government seized three tons of gold over alleged unpaid taxes, a claim Barrick denies. Meanwhile, in neighboring Niger, French nuclear fuel company Orano lost its license to the Imouraren uranium mine in 2024, and later that year the military government seized its subsidiary, Somair.

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