China plans test mines on the High Seas
The country already holds more exploration licenses than any other nation
In the past month, two Chinese companies announced plans to test mining equipment on the High Seas.
Both companies are sponsored at the ISA by the Chinese government and both are seeking polymetallic nodules—one in the Western Pacific and the other in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Eastern Pacific. If approved, the test mining would occur next year.
These announcements mark a step forward for China’s deep-sea mining ambitions. The country already holds more exploration licenses (five) from the ISA than any other, and it’s been pouring money into marine research and technology. All of which has congressional China hawks worried.
Media coverage of seabed mining (at least in the U.S.) tends to focus on Western countries. Think Canada-based The Metals Company or the government of Norway. But it’s a group of Asian countries—including China, India, and Japan—that appear to be moving more decisively toward exploitation of seabed minerals.
So while these Chinese companies won’t be the first to test seabed mining equipment (The Metals Company may have already applied for an exploitation license by next year), it’s important to keep tabs on their activities. Because thanks to their investments today, China and its neighbors may be at the forefront of the seabed mining industry a decade from now.