China and Canada Lead in Deep-Sea Mining Technology

A Canadian company is attempting to become the first deep-sea mining enterprise by utilizing Trump's executive order to bypass international regulation.

Oceans around the world - including international waters and national jurisdictions - are rich in mineral resources such as cobalt, nickel, and copper.

These metals play a crucial role in the production of technologies like electric vehicle batteries. As countries strive to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, these resources have become increasingly important.

"As a country with high energy demands, China will seek resources from everywhere, including the deep sea," said Gui-Fang Xue of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

However, she stated that China is not particularly anxious about recent developments - particularly a Canadian company's eagerness to become the first to conduct deep-sea mining.

The Canadian deep-sea minerals exploration company The Metals Company (TMC) has applied to the U.S. to carry out deep-sea mining in international waters.

The company is acting through its American subsidiary after Trump signed an executive order in April to bypass international negotiations and expedite the issuance of mining permits in U.S. and international waters.

Trump cited a little-known 1980 U.S. law that allows American citizens to explore and extract deep-sea minerals outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.

This Canadian company had originally planned to submit its application to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which manages the development of resources on the seabed in international waters.

TMC stated that due to the ISA's slow progress in formulating seabed mining regulations, the company chose to bypass its procedures. The U.S. is not a member of the ISA.

An observer who has long followed related negotiations and wished to remain anonymous pointed out that China is not particularly concerned about who will be the first to mine seabed resources.

"For China, what matters is dominance, maintaining competitiveness in the game, and sending a signal to the outside world that 'you can't underestimate us,'" the observer said.

Alex Gilbert, a researcher at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, told AFP that to achieve this goal, "China is developing relevant technology and formulating strategic agreements."

For example, China has reached an agreement with the Cook Islands to explore mineral resources in the waters of this Pacific nation.

Another small country, Kiribati, also stated that it is discussing the establishment of a deep-sea mining cooperation with China.

There is still a technical gap.

"China has been catching up in scientific research and making continuous progress in technology," said Chen Xuguang, a researcher at Ocean University of China.

In 2024, the deep-sea heavy-duty operation mining vehicle engineering prototype "Explorer II" developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University successfully operated at a depth of more than 4,000 meters, setting a new domestic record.

A state-owned enterprise, Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Company, told AFP that it plans to conduct collection tests of seabed nodules later this year.

However, experts say that China's technological level still lags behind TMC. "I think China is lagging two to four years behind in terms of technology," Gilbert said.

French expert Hashem considers the technical gap to be about five years.

However, compared with Canadian companies, China has an advantage in the collection and processing of seabed mineral resources: Chinese enterprises are supported by the state and have the infrastructure needed for metal processing.

On Monday, June 9, the United Nations Ocean Conference opened in Nice, France. More than 50 heads of state and government leaders attended the opening ceremony, and the five-day conference involved over 120 countries.

One of the core goals of this summit is to promote the entry into force of the landmark High Seas Treaty. This treaty, passed in 2023, aims to protect biodiversity in international waters. The treaty must be ratified by 60 countries to become binding international law.

Source: AFP, UN website

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834599830041610/

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