If governments don’t meet a July 2023 deadline to draw up regulations governing deep-sea mining, companies may start exploiting the seabed without legal restrictions
Environment
31 December 2022
The Metals Company’s drilling vessel Hidden Gem has been converted for collecting nodules from the deep sea Jochen Tack/Alamy
For decades, governments and businesses have had a keen eye on the mineral wealth buried in the deep ocean, but a vacuum in regulations governing seabed mining has kept would-be miners at bay.
That is all set to change in 2023, as governments face a July deadline to agree on regulations governing deep-sea mining – or risk mining companies starting work on the seabed without any rules at all.
Under the UN regulator, the International …