A subsidiary of the Canadian Metals Company wants to start mining polymetic noodles in the Pacific with 2026.
On Thursday, the rules related to deep maritime mining in international waters should be run through “sound science” and should be made on consensus, the head of the body accused of organizing a divisive process on Thursday.
International waters include deep maritime mining, taking minerals like cobalt and copper.
But researchers and environmentalists have long warned that it is at risk of destroying residences and species that are considered rarely, and that they can disturb the delicate process in the sea that affects climate change.
International waters are administered by the International Maritime Authority (ISA), an independent organization based on the UN Law Convention.
The ISA Council, which now only grants research contracts, has been developing trade exploitation rules for more than a decade. And their aim is to adopt a mining code this year to extract marine floor resources in international waters.
The matter is very controversial, some member countries want to start mining soon, while others want a mortium or even a sheer ban on the exploitation of the sea floor.
ISA Secretary -General Ltekia Karwalao said that any mining code prepared this year should be driven by “transparency, environmental responsibility and division of equal benefits”.
He told an Ocean meeting in Tokyo via video link, “Sound science has to emphasize all the decisions related to the deep seas.”
The world paid little attention when Jesus, born in 1994, quietly began to discuss the mining code.
But the calendar has shown a hurry.
International waters include deep maritime mining, taking minerals such as cobalt and copper-from the main floor for renewable energy technology.
Thorny questions
Since July 2023, due to a legal clause found by the Noro’s small Pacific Island Nation, any country can apply for a mining agreement under the name of a company.
Noro Ocean Resources Inc. Inc., a subsidiary of the Canadian Metals Company (TMC), wants to start mining of polymetic nodols in the Pacific with 2026, 2026.
It is intended to file an exploitation application by June this year, which requires further pressure to need a code.
So far, thorny problems have not been solved, including how to share profits from environmental rules and maritime floor resources, “shared heritage of humanity”.
Through training, a marine expert, Karwalao, can guide only the member states as they decide whether the code is drafted or not.
She said she would “focus on ensuring that the decision was laid in science and made consensus”.
Warning about the effects of mining last year gained strength with the discovery that oxygen was being issued not only through living organisms, but also by polymetic nodols, which would be targeted by companies.
These results have been rejected by the TMC, though it has helped fund the research, and follow -up work is underway.
Mining supporters indicate the growing need for minerals to advance renewable energy transfer, and problems associated with ground exploitation, including environmental collapse and rights violations.
25 2025 AFP
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