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is ticking for ISA as deep sea extraction rules delayed until 2025","clock-is-ticking-for-isa-as-deep-sea-extraction-rules-delayed-until-2025","article/clock-is-ticking-for-isa-as-deep-sea-extraction-rules-delayed-until-2025",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":566,"content":576,"excerpt":831,"featured":51,"reporter":832,"_editable":836,"component":837,"seo_title":553,"categories":838,"visibility":848,"author_company":49,"featured_image":849,"seo_description":831,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":853,"formattedArticleDate":854},"650c8715-0eb3-4484-8659-167dffd6ae53","2023-08-11 00:00",[560,563],{"slug":561,"name":562},"deep-sea","Deep Sea",{"slug":564,"name":565},"policy","Policy",[567],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":570},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":571,"image":572,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":573},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":577,"content":578},"doc",[579,586,591,596,601,606,611,618,623,628,633,638,643,648,653,658,663,668,673,678,683,688,693,702,707,712,717,722,727,732,737,742,747,752,774,779,784,789,794,799,804,809,814,819,824],{"type":580,"attrs":581,"content":582},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":585},"An increasing number of companies are looking to extract the mineral resources found on the sea bed in areas of international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.","text",{"type":580,"attrs":587,"content":588},{"textAlign":49},[589],{"text":590,"type":585},"Before extraction can begin, however, exploitation regulations need to be agreed by members of the Kingston, Jamaica-headquartered International Seabed Authority, a United Nations body. ",{"type":580,"attrs":592,"content":593},{"textAlign":49},[594],{"text":595,"type":585},"At the end of last month ISA ended its most recent meeting, but still did not pass regulations that would allow extraction to go ahead. The body, which was set up in 1994, is tasked with implementing regulations for deep sea mineral extraction in international waters, according to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It has 168 member countries. ",{"type":580,"attrs":597,"content":598},{"textAlign":49},[599],{"text":600,"type":585},"The ISA has now set a timeline to agree on regulations at their next meeting in 2024 with the plan to enact them by 2025. The Metals Company, a deep sea minerals developer, plans to hold them to this, announcing plans to submit an application after the 2024 meeting.",{"type":580,"attrs":602,"content":603},{"textAlign":49},[604],{"text":605,"type":585},"“It can’t go on indefinitely,” Craig Shesky, the chief financial officer at The Metals Company, told Benchmark Source. “We don’t think it will.”",{"type":580,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609],{"text":610,"type":585},"The clock is once again ticking for the ISA to agree on regulations for the sector.",{"type":612,"attrs":613,"content":615},"heading",{"level":614,"textAlign":49},4,[616],{"text":617,"type":585},"What happened at the recent International Seabed Authority meeting in Jamaica?",{"type":580,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":585},"The ISA has agreed to keep negotiating rules for deep sea mineral extraction, with a goal of having final rules by 2025. ",{"type":580,"attrs":624,"content":625},{"textAlign":49},[626],{"text":627,"type":585},"The ISA said that it intends “to continue the work on the exploitation regulations” and laid out a roadmap for deciding on these regulations. However, this is well past the July 2023 deadline for finalising the regulations that was set two years ago.",{"type":580,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631],{"text":632,"type":585},"With that deadline missed, any company wishing to extract minerals from the deep sea in international waters can now enter a work plan that must be considered by the ISA.",{"type":580,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":585},"As part of the session that took place last month, members of the ISA agreed that should a plan to exploit deep sea minerals be submitted, the body will meet again to decide how to proceed “as a matter of priority”.",{"type":612,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"level":614,"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":585},"What is the “two-year rule”?",{"type":580,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":585},"In July 2021, the island country Nauru triggered the so-called “two-year rule” in the 1994 agreement to implement the deep sea mining provisions in the Law of the Sea, on the grounds that Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI) intended to apply for an exploitation licence.",{"type":580,"attrs":649,"content":650},{"textAlign":49},[651],{"text":652,"type":585},"At the time of invoking the clause, NORI was wholly owned by DeepGreen which merged with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisitions Corp to become The Metals Company.",{"type":580,"attrs":654,"content":655},{"textAlign":49},[656],{"text":657,"type":585},"In 2011 the ISA granted a polymetallic nodule exploration contract in the Clarion Clipperton Zone to NORI, which was sponsored by the government of Nauru.",{"type":580,"attrs":659,"content":660},{"textAlign":49},[661],{"text":662,"type":585},"Specifically, this clause allows a state that intends to apply for an exploitation licence to request the ISA to “elaborate and adopt” the rules and regulations covering deep sea mining. ",{"type":580,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666],{"text":667,"type":585},"The ISA has two years from when a state makes such a request to finalise and adopt these rules.",{"type":580,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[671],{"text":672,"type":585},"The ISA meeting began shortly after the two-year deadline set by the Pacific island nation of Nauru in 2021 expired.",{"type":580,"attrs":674,"content":675},{"textAlign":49},[676],{"text":677,"type":585},"In effect, the passing of this deadline compels the ISA to begin considering permit applications for deep sea mineral extraction regardless of the status of regulations.",{"type":580,"attrs":679,"content":680},{"textAlign":49},[681],{"text":682,"type":585},"As yet, no such plans of work have been submitted.",{"type":580,"attrs":684,"content":685},{"textAlign":49},[686],{"text":687,"type":585},"The state of Nauru expressed in a statement to the ISA that it was “extremely disappointed” that the ISA did not finalise the regulations within the two-year timeline.",{"type":580,"attrs":689,"content":690},{"textAlign":49},[691],{"text":692,"type":585},"“We consider the Council’s failure to adopt such rules, regulations and procedures within the prescribed timeline, constitutes a direct breach of its obligation under the 1994 Agreement,” it said.",{"type":580,"attrs":694,"content":695},{"textAlign":49},[696],{"type":697,"attrs":698},"image",{"id":49,"alt":699,"src":700,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":701},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/26ec45c8ca/bm-the-metals-company-2.jpg",{},{"type":612,"attrs":703,"content":704},{"level":614,"textAlign":49},[705],{"text":706,"type":585},"Who is calling for a moratorium against deep sea mining?",{"type":580,"attrs":708,"content":709},{"textAlign":49},[710],{"text":711,"type":585},"Some countries, including France and New Zealand, and NGOs, such as Greenpeace and WWF, are calling for a moratorium on deep sea exploration and development operations until the risks are properly assessed. ",{"type":580,"attrs":713,"content":714},{"textAlign":49},[715],{"text":716,"type":585},"The crux of the argument for a moratorium centres on the lack of understanding of the deep sea ecosystem and the unknown impact of any exploration and extraction activities. ",{"type":580,"attrs":718,"content":719},{"textAlign":49},[720],{"text":721,"type":585},"The Pew Charitable Trust commissioned an independent legal opinion on whether a moratorium should be called.",{"type":580,"attrs":723,"content":724},{"textAlign":49},[725],{"text":726,"type":585},"“A moratorium or precautionary pause is not only consistent with [the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea], but is actually required by it,” the opinion reads. ",{"type":580,"attrs":728,"content":729},{"textAlign":49},[730],{"text":731,"type":585},"In March 2021, BMW and Volvo announced that they supported a moratorium on deep sea mineral extraction. This was backed by Google and Samsung SDI.",{"type":580,"attrs":733,"content":734},{"textAlign":49},[735],{"text":736,"type":585},"In June, the European Academies Science Advisory Council released a report assessing deep sea mineral extraction and found a lack of scientific consensus and data “limits the ability of [the] ISA to effectively protect the marine environment” and therefore supports a moratorium.",{"type":580,"attrs":738,"content":739},{"textAlign":49},[740],{"text":741,"type":585},"Although the exact wording of the various calls for a moratorium can differ, Charlotte Selvey Miller, head of sustainability at Benchmark, says that most are calling for a pause until we know more rather than saying deep sea mineral exploitation should never occur.",{"type":580,"attrs":743,"content":744},{"textAlign":49},[745],{"text":746,"type":585},"“Moratoriums are important to give that space for scientific exploration,” Selvey Miller said, “but we should see an end to the moratorium once we do have the information we are searching for.”",{"type":612,"attrs":748,"content":749},{"level":614,"textAlign":49},[750],{"text":751,"type":585},"Will deep sea mining impact land-based operations? ",{"type":580,"attrs":753,"content":754},{"textAlign":49},[755,757,765,767,772],{"text":756,"type":585},"Between 2023 and 2030, Benchmark forecasts demand for ",{"text":758,"type":585,"marks":759},"cobalt",[760],{"type":761,"attrs":762},"link",{"href":763,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":764},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cobalt/","url",{"text":766,"type":585}," will grow 94% but supply will grow only 47% putting the market into a 66,000 tonne deficit by the end of the decade. ",{"text":150,"type":585,"marks":768},[769],{"type":761,"attrs":770},{"href":771,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":764},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/nickel/",{"text":773,"type":585}," is forecast to be in a 630,000 tonne deficit by the same year, highlighting the need for new sources of the minerals critical to the energy transition.",{"type":580,"attrs":775,"content":776},{"textAlign":49},[777],{"text":778,"type":585},"The Metals Company plans to extract three million wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules from the deep seabed per year. This is equivalent to 30 kilotons of nickel per year, 22 kilotons of copper, 2.4 kilotons of cobalt, and 696 kilotons of manganese.",{"type":580,"attrs":780,"content":781},{"textAlign":49},[782],{"text":783,"type":585},"An argument is that deep sea mineral extraction, while having its own set of different issues, could avoid the bulk of these land based problems.",{"type":580,"attrs":785,"content":786},{"textAlign":49},[787],{"text":788,"type":585},"“There could be a real possibility to relieve demand needed for Indonesian nickel’s land based mining operations,” Selvey Miller said. “But in regards to deep-sea minerals, the long term risks to ecosystem functioning are somewhat unknown.”",{"type":612,"attrs":790,"content":791},{"level":614,"textAlign":49},[792],{"text":793,"type":585},"So, what happens now?",{"type":580,"attrs":795,"content":796},{"textAlign":49},[797],{"text":798,"type":585},"The Metals Company has said its wholly-owned subsidiary, NORI, has “reiterated its preference to submit an application for a plan of work for exploitation once these [rules, regulations and procedures] are in place”.",{"type":580,"attrs":800,"content":801},{"textAlign":49},[802],{"text":803,"type":585},"In a further update, it added that NORI intends to submit an application for an exploitation licence after the next meeting of the ISA in July 2024, expecting that the review process will take a year allowing them to start producing from the fourth quarter of 2025.",{"type":580,"attrs":805,"content":806},{"textAlign":49},[807],{"text":808,"type":585},"They noted that “NORI reserves its right to submit an application for a plan of work for exploitation […] prior to the ISA’s provisional adoption and approval of the Mining Code.”",{"type":580,"attrs":810,"content":811},{"textAlign":49},[812],{"text":813,"type":585},"The Metal Company’s Shesky emphasised to Benchmark Source that the language was clear and if it submits a plan the ISA “have to consider it and provisionally approve it based on the rules whether draft or final.”",{"type":580,"attrs":815,"content":816},{"textAlign":49},[817],{"text":818,"type":585},"He went on to say, “Provisional approval means, until such time as they finalise something else, we’re allowed to begin working on a contract area.”",{"type":580,"attrs":820,"content":821},{"textAlign":49},[822],{"text":823,"type":585},"According to the rules laid out by the ISA, any company sponsored by an ISA member state can submit an application and expect it to be considered.",{"type":580,"attrs":825,"content":826},{"textAlign":49},[827,829],{"text":828,"type":585},"If companies wish to",{"text":830,"type":585},"extract minerals from the deep seabed then the clock is, once again, ticking for the ISA to finalise its regulations.","An increasing number of companies are looking to extract the mineral resources found on the sea bed in areas of international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Before extraction can begin, however, exploitation regulations need to be agreed by members of the Kingston, Jamaica-headquartered International Seabed Authority, […]",[833],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":834},{"job_title":571,"image":835,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},{"filename":573},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"650c8715-0eb3-4484-8659-167dffd6ae53\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[839,842,845],{"slug":840,"name":841},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":843,"name":844},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":846,"name":847},"sustainability","Sustainability","private",{"id":49,"alt":699,"name":699,"focus":699,"title":699,"source":699,"filename":850,"copyright":699,"fieldtype":851,"meta_data":852,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/44e207e2b1/bm-the-metals-company-1.jpg","asset",{"alt":699,"title":699,"source":699,"copyright":699},"Aug 11, 2023","11th August 2023",[],[],1792688580753]