"Negotiations over proposed regulations for deep-sea mining plod along as pressure mounts", 9 November 2023

Debate over proposed regulations for deep-sea mining will stretch into next year as a U.N. agency that presides over the international seabed concluded its last meeting of the year [...].

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Juan José González, president of the International Seabed Authority’s council, told reporters that if an application is submitted, the council has an obligation to discuss it.

“We would prefer, of course, to have the regulations in place,” he said.

Michael Lodge, the agency’s secretary general, said the council expects to have a mining code draft by 2025.

However, a Canadian company whose subsidiary is widely expected to be the first to apply for a deep-sea mining license, said late last week that it expects to do so in mid-2024.

Corey McLachlan, with The Metals Company, noted that while any country or company now has the legal right to apply for such a license, “we are willing to give (the agency) that additional time and effort.”

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