"New Caledonia bans 'dangerous' seabed mining for half a century", 2 May 2025

New Caledonia this week imposed a 50-year ban on deep-sea mining across its entire maritime zone – a rare and sweeping move that places the French Pacific territory among the most restrictive in the world on seabed extraction.

he law blocks all commercial exploration, prospecting and mining of mineral resources within New Caledonia's exclusive economic zone – an area of 1.3 million square kilometres.

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Lawmakers in the Congress of New Caledonia adopted the moratorium [...] with broad support.

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While New Caledonia is opting for long-term environmental protection, other Pacific nations are taking a different view.

Nauru and the Cook Islands have expressed support for seabed exploration.