Canadian The Mining Company (TMC) has welcomed moves by US senators and members of Congress to influence the UN seabed authority to finalise rules that would allow for minerals mining at the bottom of the ocean.

TMC expects to be given the go-ahead next year to start mining the sea floor in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) off the coast of Hawaii from 2025 despite the International Seabed Authority (ISA) recently failing to agree rules for it.

More than 20 governments globally have called for a pause or full ban of deep seabed mining, backed by experts and campaigners who say there is insufficient knowledge about the impact it may have and that it could wreak havoc on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Negotiations are slated to continue in mid-2024, and TMC is now hoping an intervention from US lawmakers can help clear the path for its plans to extract nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese – minerals that are crucial for the green transition.

Last week, a bipartisan group of senators led by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reintroduced a resolution calling on the Senate to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 1982 treaty that the US signed but failed to ratify four decades ago.

“The longer we sit out, the longer the rest of the world will continue to set the agenda of maritime domain, from seabed mining to critical subsea infrastructure,” Murkowski said in a statement.

“Ratifying the Law of the Sea Treaty will help us keep China’s illegal territorial advances at bay in the South China and is also critical to our national interest in the maritime domain, especially as other Arctic nations look to define their rights to seabed areas beyond their existing exclusive economic zones. It is time for America to not just join the world at the table, but to make sure we are helping to set the rules going forward.”

The US does not currently have sufficient supply of minerals found on the seabed, and is expected to have to rely on importing them unless it can mine ocean floors like the CCZ.

There have been several attempts at getting UNCLOS ratified in the US in recent years, but they have regularly failed in the Senate, where they have been blocked by Republicans amid a requirement for two-thirds of the body to vote for international treaties.

CONGRESS MEMBERS

The Murkowski push came just after a group of members of the US Congress penned a letter to the ISA, asking it to adopt regulations that would open for seabed mining.

“[It] offers a safe and environmentally responsible means for meeting societal needs for advanced materials and energy storage technologies without the taint of forced labour, slavery, or child labour abuses,” said the letter.

“By moving forward with the adoption of regulations to allow this collection by 2025, the [ISA] can provide the regulatory certainty required for the private sector to make the investments necessary to access seabed minerals in a manner that will improve supply chains and sustain and enhance the quality of life for people throughout the world.”

The press office of Congressman Wesley Hunt, one of the signatories, said in a post on social media platform X that the CCZ is estimated to hold more nickel and cobalt than the entire world’s terrestrial reserves combined.

ENCOURAGED

“It’s encouraging to hear policymakers calling for the world’s largest economy to play an active role in shaping the rules for the responsible development of marine resources in the high seas,” TMC CEO Gerard Barron said in a statement Tuesday.

“We recognise the longer-term opportunity that polymetallic nodules represent for the US and – whether the country ultimately ratifies UNCLOS or not – we will continue to work with American policymakers, companies and researchers to determine a role for nodules in achieving the country’s clean energy ambitions.”

TMC also noted that five Texan members of the US House of Representatives recently urged the Department of Defense to use federal resources towards a feasibility study for nodule processing on the coast of Texas.

While opposition against seabed mining remains strong – a number of companies including BMW and Samsung have vowed not to use minerals extracted from the ocean – several governments are showing interest.

The Norwegian government earlier this year said it intended to open up an area bigger than the UK for deep seabed mining, though it remains to be seen if its parliament will approve it.

A WWF-commissioned legal opinion released earlier this month concluded that such a move by the Norwegian government would not be legal.

ISA has granted some 30 exploration licences, of which five are being held by China.

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