Under the Convention, will U.S. companies have the opportunity to acquire rights to conduct deep seabed mining?
A. Yes. In fact, without the Convention, deep seabed mining will be less likely to occur. The Convention’s rules provide for awards of mining rights to be made on first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants meeting objective criteria. (Convention Annex III, Article 6(3)) American companies will be eligible to apply for such rights on an equal basis with companies from other countries; Convention provisions that could have resulted in discrimination against U.S. companies were repealed by Section 6(7) of the Annex to the 1994 Agreement Implementing the Convention’s deep seabed mining provisions). Given that U.S. companies are among the leaders in seabed mining technology, our ability to pursue these resources is more advanced than most.
Related Questions
- Does the Convention permit decisions about deep seabed mining to be made by developing countries over the objection of the United States through the International Seabed Authority?
- Under the Convention, will U.S. companies have the opportunity to acquire rights to conduct deep seabed mining?
- Does the Convention provide for production controls on mining of minerals from the deep seabed?
