Natricia Duncan for The Commonwealth | 29 January 2019 Commonwealth governments are set to benefit from a ground-breaking scientific research expedition into the unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean. First Descent, a collaboration of ocean research institute Nekton, the Commonwealth and other partners will launch a multidisciplinary exploration of never-before-accessed ocean territory. The expedition ship, […]
Read More
Chris Hinde for the Mining Beacon | 21 December 2018 In his presentation at the Mines and Money London conference in November, the CEO of DeepGreen Metals Inc., Gerard Barron, outlined the problems facing the global economy in the supply of sustainable metals and minerals, and the role this private Vancouver-based company is planning to […]
Read More
Martha Henriques for the BBC | 7 January 2019 Off the coast of Okinawa, a slim stretch of land among Japan’s southern Ryuku islands, thousands of metres below the surface, there are the remains of extinct hydrothermal vent systems scattered about the ocean floor. The minerals at these long-dead former vent sites are now gaining […]
Read More
Radio New Zealand | 27 December 2018 A troubled deep sea mining project in Papua New Guinea has been given a loan of nearly $US500,000. Nautilus Minerals plans to mine the floor of the Bismarck Sea between New Ireland and New Britain. The Canadian company has faced opposition from environmental and community groups, and has […]
Read More
By Conn Nugent for the Pew Charitable Trusts | 28 December 2018 The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was established to manage mining on the international seabed and to protect the marine environment from its harmful effects. Striking a balance is a formidable challenge. All mining operations, land or sea, cause environmental damage. Research strongly suggests […]
Read More
David Hutt for Monga Bay | 26 December 2018 An ambitious plan to mine precious minerals from the ocean floor off the coast of Papua New Guinea looks to have run aground due to the developer’s financial problems. In 2011, the government of Papua New Guinea granted Canada-based Nautilus Minerals a 20-year mining license covering […]
Read More
Australian Mining | 12 December 2018 Nautilus Minerals’ production support vessel (PSV) has been acquired by Indian company MDL Energy in a blow to Nautilus’ deep-sea mining plans. The in-construction PSV is a cornerstone of the Canadian company’s plans for its Solwara 1 deep sea mining project in Papua New Guinea. The Solwara 1 project […]
Read More Daniel Gleeson for International Mining | 12 December 2018 Ocean Energy Ventures (OEV), a subsidiary of the MDL Energy group of companies, together with Quippo Oil and Gas, has acquired the newly built production support vessel previously destined for Nautilus Minerals and its Solwara 1 copper-gold marine mining project off the coast of Papua New […]
Read More
Philip Cass for Kaniva Tonga News | 6 December 2018 Tonga is exploring the possibility of deep sea mining. However, there have been warnings that mining the seabed could cause environmental problems and could harm Tonga’s whale watching industry. Paula Ma’u, CEO of the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and […]
Read More
Radio New Zealand | 10 December 2018 The Cook Islands opposition MP Selina Napa has asked the government to reveal what changes are being planned for the Seabed Mining Act. Ms Napa said reported statements that the changes would be made public when they are tabled in Parliament “isn’t good enough”. Read the full article […]
Read More