Deep-Sea Mining Authority Targets 2025 for Regulations
The United Nations-affiliated group has given itself a timeline for setting rules and oversight for companies that want to strip mine the ocean floor for key minerals.
Remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer images an outcrop on the seafloor. Scientists still have a relatively poor understanding of deep sea ecosystems, including the harm mining them could cause. Photo: NOAA Ocean Exploration
Photographer: NOAA Ocean ExplorationThe International Seabed Authority (ISA) on Friday reached an agreement that gives the United Nations-affiliated regulator breathing room to finish rules for strip-mining deep ocean ecosystems for valuable metals before it must consider issuing mining licenses.
At its annual meeting that stretched into Friday evening, the ISA’s 36-member policymaking Council said it would work “with a view” to adopting regulations in 2025. The agreement came after hours of closed-door negotiations at the organization’s Kingston, Jamaica, headquarters on the last day of a two-week meeting.