The US administration is considering issuing an executive order that would speed up the permitting process of deep-sea mining projects in international waters which would bypass a United Nations-backed review process, Reuters reported with a reference to its sources.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is the prime UN organ for establishing regulations on deep-sea mining in international waters. However, the international standards for this activity are still being discussed and are not put in place.
US president Donald Trump's deep-sea mining order is likely to stipulate that the US aims to exercise its rights to extract critical minerals on the ocean's floor and let miners bypass the ISA and seek permitting through the US Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's mining code, according to the sources.
Such a step could give mining companies a formal permitting process to complete and avoid the potential perception that they aim to mine the ocean's floors without any oversight. The plans are under discussion and could change before Trump signs the order, the sources said.
Just recently, a Canadian deep-sea mining firm The Metals Company focused on polymetallic nodule extraction in the Pacific has announced plans to apply for permits under existing U.S. mining code for deep-sea minerals, circumventing ISA’s authority and triggering a backlash from the UN-backed organization, environmentalist groups and diplomats alike.
The Metals Co said "commercial industry is not welcome at the ISA" and that the US is "a regulator willing to engage with the applicants and give applications a fair hearing."
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
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