Tuvalu cancels its sponsorship: the role of international law.

Opinion/Editorial by Alberto Pecoraro Alberto Pecoraro is a PhD Fellow at the Law & Development Research Group of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). His research concerns the international legal protection of deep seabed mining investments. Tuvalu’s recent decision to cancel its sponsorship of Circular Metals Tuvalu Ltd. may entail far-reaching international legal consequences. On the […]

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Deep-sea Mining State of Technology, 2022

Andrew Thaler for the Deep-sea Mining Observer While the development of a deep-sea mining code may have slowed to a crawl over the last two years, the mining contractors have been hard at work pushing the limits of marine robotics. Deep-sea mining contractors cleared several key technical milestones in the race to commercialize the deep […]

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Commentary: Can the invocation of the ‘two-year rule’ at the International Seabed Authority be challenged?

Pradeep A. Singh for the Deep-sea Mining Observer [1] In late June 2021, some three months ago now, the Republic of Nauru invoked section 1(15) of the 1994 Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter ‘section 1(15)’), which houses the ‘two-year rule’ or […]

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Opinion: ISA rushes forward

Opinion by Andrew Thaler, DSMO Editor-in-Chief The International Seabed Authority published their provisional roadmap for the next two years of international negotiations, optimistically culminating with the approval of the Mining Code for polymetallic nodules in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This ambitious goal depends upon the ability to resume ISA sessions in Kingston, a scenario that […]

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IUCN votes for deep-sea mining moratorium

Andrew Thaler for Deep-sea Mining Observer This month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature called on all state members to implement a deep-sea mining moratorium, including a moratorium on issuing new exploration contracts and adopting a mining code, until appropriate impact assessments have been completed. Those impact assessments include social, cultural, and economic risks, […]

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Opinion: Deep-sea Mining has Time.

Opinion by Andrew Thaler, DSMO Editor-in-Chief As we enter the final quarter of 2021, with a global pandemic still raging across all but a few countries and impacting supply chains and critical work throughout the world, it looks increasingly unlikely that an in-person session of the ISA will be possible before 2022, marking two years […]

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Has pulling the Trigger already backfired?

Andrew Thaler for the Deep-sea Mining Observer. The Republic of Nauru turned the deep-sea mining world on its head this summer when it invoked Article 15, colloquially known as the Trigger, starting a 2-year countdown on the finalization of mining regulations for polymetallic nodules in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This countdown means that commercial deep-sea […]

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