UN body mulls deep sea mining amid demand for minerals | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 12, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
UN body mulls deep sea mining amid demand for minerals

World+Biz

AP/UNB
02 April, 2023, 05:10 pm
Last modified: 02 April, 2023, 05:17 pm

Related News

  • Hurricane Beryl steams towards Cayman Islands, Mexico after striking Jamaica
  • 3 dead after Hurricane Beryl hits eastern Caribbean islands
  • Former PM of Jamaica to head Commonwealth Expert Team observing Bangladesh elections
  • Bangladesh participating in 28th Council of International Seabed Authority in Jamaica
  • Jamaica seizes $80 million worth of cocaine from cargo ship

UN body mulls deep sea mining amid demand for minerals

AP/UNB
02 April, 2023, 05:10 pm
Last modified: 02 April, 2023, 05:17 pm
Photo :Collected
Photo :Collected

Pressure is mounting on an obscure UN body based in Jamaica to hit pause on plans to potentially open the world's deep seas to mining as companies push for permission to extract metals from seabeds in international waters.

The International Seabed Authority on Friday closed two weeks' worth of negotiations without approving rules and regulations to oversee deep sea mining amid growing calls to pause, ban or place a moratorium on the quest to extract minerals from the Earth's watery depths that are used in green technology like electric car batteries.

While the first exploration licenses for deep sea mining were issued in 2001, the authority has yet to receive an application for actual mining. Individual countries and private companies can start applying for provisional licenses on July 10 if the UN body does not approve a set of rules and regulations by July 9, which experts say is highly unlikely since they believe the process could take several years.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"We know what a crucial period…the council is in at the moment," Deryck Lance Murray, the authority's representative for Trinidad and Tobago, said at the closing meeting on Friday.

Scientists worry that deep sea mining would disrupt critical ecosystems that regulate climate change, and a growing number of countries are siding with them, including France, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

"When in doubt, favor nature," Edward Aníbal Pérez, the authority's representative from the Dominican Republic, said at the closing meeting on Friday.

He noted that while he is aware of the importance of certain minerals given that mankind is on the brink of an energetic transition, he said deep sea mining is not the sole alternative to meet growing demand.

"It is clear there are doubts as to the effects that this activity might cause," he said.

Earlier, France's representative, Olivier Guyonvarch, said a lack of data on deep sea ecosystems and species prevents a fact-based analysis of potential damage that such mining might cause.

"Scientists are uncovering an extraordinary diversity of life in the largely unexplored and unstudied depths of the ocean," he said.

Guyonvarch noted that scientists already know the deep sea plays a large role in mitigating climate change by storing large amounts of carbon.

Scientists have warned that deep sea mining would kill species and damage ecosystems by releasing noise, light and dust storms, while companies that support such mining argue it is cheaper and has less of an impact than land mining.

More than 30 exploration licenses have been issued so far, with activity mostly focused in an area called the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which spans 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. Exploration there has been occurring at depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters).

The rush and demand for minerals come as a growing number of countries and companies turn to green energy in a bid to reduce pollution.

The International Energy Agency noted in a report this year that "industries that were in their infancy" in the early 2000s and 2010s such as solar photovoltaic technology and electric vehicles, "have mushroomed into vast manufacturing operations today."

Demand for minerals including lithium, cobalt and nickel is expected to increase from less than 10 million metric tons to some 150 million metric tons between 2020 and 2050, according to Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.

More than a dozen countries have officially called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep sea mining, although it's unclear how many other countries support such mining. And while there are 36 members on the authority's council that have the power to award contracts to governments and private companies, only 12 votes in favor of deep sea mining are needed for it to pass, according to Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a Netherlands-based alliance of environmental groups.

In addition, the ongoing debate is how would the UN body approve or reject an application for a provisional license without guidance from a set of rules and regulations, Matthew Gianni, the coalition's co-founder, told The Associated Press.

He added that there is no agreement yet on what a provisional license would allow.

And even if a provisional license is granted, it's not yet clear whether that would be an actual green light for mining or just a provisional approval stating that the company or country cannot sign a contract with the UN body until a regulatory framework is created.

"All of that is up in the air," Gianni said.

Any decision regarding a provisional license also could be appealed to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Top News

deep-sea mining / jamaica

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. Photo: Collected
    UK crime agency now freezes assets of ex-land minister Saifuzzaman: AJ
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks at the Chatham House in London on 11 June 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    No desire to be part of next elected govt: CA Yunus
  • File photo of BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury. Photo: Collected
    Khasru flies to London ahead of Yunus-Tarique meeting

MOST VIEWED

  • Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS
    Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon
  • A file photo of Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur. Photo: Collected
    'I have no relation with this': Ahsan Mansur debunks Joy’s allegations over daughter’s Dubai flat
  • Faiz Ahmad Tayeb. Photo: BSS
    Import duty on raw materials for e-bikes, lithium batteries reduced from 80% to 1% in some cases: Faiz Taiyeb
  • File photo of ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Photo: Collected
    Joy spends Eid with Hasina in India: Indian media
  • Mercantile Bank withholds dividend amid Tk1,700cr provision shortfall
    Mercantile Bank withholds dividend amid Tk1,700cr provision shortfall
  • Shakil Ahmed. Photo: Collected
    DU student allegedly hangs himself following threats over old derogatory comment about Prophet on Facebook

Related News

  • Hurricane Beryl steams towards Cayman Islands, Mexico after striking Jamaica
  • 3 dead after Hurricane Beryl hits eastern Caribbean islands
  • Former PM of Jamaica to head Commonwealth Expert Team observing Bangladesh elections
  • Bangladesh participating in 28th Council of International Seabed Authority in Jamaica
  • Jamaica seizes $80 million worth of cocaine from cargo ship

Features

Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

12h | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

1d | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

2d | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

4d | Bangladesh

More Videos from TBS

Why is Omicron XBB more contagious?

Why is Omicron XBB more contagious?

9h | TBS Stories
What did Dr. Yunus say at the Chatham House Dialogue in London?

What did Dr. Yunus say at the Chatham House Dialogue in London?

10h | TBS Today
News of The Day, 11 JUNE 2025

News of The Day, 11 JUNE 2025

11h | TBS News of the day
WB predicts worst decade for global growth since 60s

WB predicts worst decade for global growth since 60s

12h | TBS Stories
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net