Testing times
For some time, it seemed likely that the world’s first deep-sea mine would open on hydrothermal vents off Papua New Guinea. Canadian mining company Nautilus Minerals obtained a mining licence from the Papua New Guinean government to operate in national waters, and built three mining machines that would excavate the tall chimneys of black smokers. But in 2019, facing spiralling costs and repeated financial setbacks, the company went into administration.
Other countries have conducted test mines within their national waters, which, unlike areas in the high seas, don’t fall under the purview of the ISA. In
2020, a Japanese state-backed mining company extracted cobalt and nickel from a seamount
400km east of Tokyo.