Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

an economic perspective, including the markets for the concerned metals and
in the determination of the commercial value of deposits. With regard to the
depth of occurrence of these deposits, this participant said that such
information helps to determine the technology required to recover the
minerals as well as how to protect the environment from the impacts of
mining.
For those deposits located in the exclusive economic zones of coastal
and island States, this participant made the observation that some States may
have already prepared or established regimes for prospecting and exploration
for these new resources. He said that a new regime for prospecting and
exploration for these kinds of resources in the Area should therefore be
compatible with those prepared by the coastal States.
Commenting on these statements, the Secretary-General said that in
the case of crusts and massive sulphides the difference between those two
minerals and nodules also lies in the fact whereas most of the nodules are to
be found in the international area these two resources are also found in
national areas. As a result, the Secretary-General said that the Authority
would be competing with endowed coastal and island States or territories.
In relation to an earlier statement regarding the use of one system for
all marine mineral resources, a participant from the United States said that the
United State has regulations for offshore petroleum and regulations for
marine minerals other than oil and gas. He said that given the differences in
the nature of the different types of deposits, separate regimes were
established for each one. This participant, who was a member of the drafting
Committee established by the Government of the United States, described the
work that was done by the United States. He said that initially and where
necessary, the Committee tracked all the regulations that were developed
elsewhere and extracted the good parts of these regulations. He said
regulations had been established for prospecting, exploration and commercial
recovery. He said that under these regulations, prospecting is free of cost that
is, the company is not required to pay the government for engaging in this
activity. He said interested parties are free to prospect and do scientific
research. He said that once the work becomes commercial, the interested
party has to apply for an exploration license that then gives the party
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 480