Commentary by Pradeep A. Singh (Fellow, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, IASS Potsdam) and Maila Guilhon (Research Associate, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, IASS Potsdam) Considering the potential of deep-sea mining activities to cause harm to the marine environment, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) requires exploration contractors and proponents for exploitation contracts to undertake an […]
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Interview with Pradeep A. Singh As part of the 27th Session of the International Seabed Authority, the Council met from 18-29 July and the Assembly from 1-5 August. One key topic that reverberated throughout the meetings was the looming deadline to complete the elaboration and adoption of regulations that would allow exploitation activities to commence, […]
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Engineers successfully lowered the Allseas-designed collector vehicle to the seafloor at depths of 2,470 meters, marking the first time the vehicle had been subjected to ultra-deep-water temperatures and pressures. Engineers then subjected the vehicle to extensive testing of its various pumps and critical mobility functions, driving 1,018 meters across the seafloor. Read the full release here: The […]
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The Cook Islands was recently invited to participate in the Cobalt Institute’s first webinar of the year, held virtually on 20 April 2022 and covering seabed minerals (SBM). Metals like cobalt are essential for the energy transition, with deep seabed minerals increasingly being considered as a potential source. Read the full release here: SBMA Release: […]
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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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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 […]
Read More Vancouver, Canada – June 10, 2021- The Metals Company (formerly DeepGreen Metals), a Canadian explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, today welcomed the findings of the White House’s comprehensive 100-day review addressing supply chain challenges and outlined how its plans can make a material contribution to re-shoring American supply chains for the critical minerals needed […]
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Opinion/Editorial by Kris Van Nijen, Global Sea Mineral Resources Harmony has broken out in the world of deep-seabed mining. At last, contractors, regulators, NGOs and end users are aligned on the way forward. After years of heated debate, a snowball effect has occurred, and all parties have agreed that more research is needed before commercial […]
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Opinion/Editorial by Megan Jungwiwattanaporn When countries began to contemplate seabed mining decades ago, their representatives assumed that the ocean bottom was featureless and lifeless, uninteresting except for the minerals that might be recovered from it. Now we know that the seabed is, in fact, a varied tapestry of physical features and marine life rather than […]
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Pradeep A. Singh Pradeep Singh is a research associate at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (Potsdam, Germany). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled July 2020 session of the Legal and Technical Commission, the Council and the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) could not take place in-person in Kingston, Jamaica. While […]
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