Why China struggles as US plunges into deep-sea mining for valuable metals and rare earths
No reward yet for Beijing’s multilateral approach at UN body tasked with regulating law of the sea
Strewn across the sea floor of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, the coveted nodules and other forms of ocean deposits are gaining widespread attention. Yet for all their vast potential, deep-sea mining remains off-limits for now.
The obstacle is not merely technological feasibility but a lack of legal clarity.
Unclos states that the commercial exploitation of seabed minerals can only begin with the establishment of a general mining code, a comprehensive set of legal, environmental and operational regulations.
This task falls to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a UN agency. However, the code’s finalisation has stalled within the ISA framework, largely due to mounting environmental concerns.
