The Present and Future of Exploration for
Deep Seabed Mineral Resources
Prepared for World Ocean Forum 2009
10-12 November 2009, Bexco, Busan, Republic of Korea
Nii Allotey Odunton
Secretary-General
International Seabed Authority
THE INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY

Established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the
Implementation of Part XI of the Convention

The Authority is the organization through which States Parties
to the Convention shall , in accordance with the regime for the
seabed, ocean floor and subsoil beyond the limits of national
jurisdiction ( the Area) to organize and control activities in the
Area

Came into existence 16 November 1994 upon entry into force
of the 1982 Convention

Headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, the Authority became
fully operational in June 1996.
Marine areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
Indicative and not including claims for extended continental shelves
FUNCTIONS

Its four main functions are:
- To govern and administer the mineral resources of the
international seabed area the Area (seabed, ocean floor
and subsoil beyond the limits of national jurisdiction
defined as the common the heritage of mankind);
- To adopt rules, regulations and procedures for the
conduct of activities (prospecting, exploration and
exploitation of the mineral resources) in the Area;
- To promote and encourage marine scientific research in
the Area, and
- To protect and conserve the natural resources of the
Area, and prevent damage to the flora and fauna of the
marine environment.
THE ORGANS

Principal organs of the Authority are an Assembly, a Council
and a Secretariat. The Authority also has two subsidiary
organs; a Legal and Technical Commission and a Finance
Committee
THE ASSEMBLY
 The Assembly, as the sole organ of the Authority to which the
other principal organs are accountable to. To date, the
Authority has 159 members, including the European
Community.
THE COUNCIL
 The Council consists of 36 members of the Authority elected by
the Assembly into five chambers as follows. It is the executive
organ of the Authority and has the power to establish specific
policies within the competence of the Authority
(a)
Four members from among those States Parties which have
consumed more than 2 per cent in value terms of total world
consumption
(b)Four members from among the eight States Parties which have made
the largest investments in preparation for and in the conduct of
activities in the Area, either directly or through their nationals
(c)
Four members from among States Parties which, on the basis of
production in areas under their jurisdiction, are major exporters
(d)
Six members from among developing States Parties
(e)
Eighteen members elected according to the principle of ensuring
an equitable geographical distribution of seats in the Council as a whole
THE SECRETARIAT
The third principal organ of the Authority is the Secretariat which
is headed by a Secretary-General and a current staff complement
of 35
SUBSIDIARY BODIES
The two subsidiary bodies perform functions of an advisory nature
for the Council and Assembly.
Legal and Technical Commission
Composed of 24 members elected by the Council, the LTC makes
recommendations to the Council on rules, regulations and
procedures for prospecting, exploration and exploitation of
mineral resources in the Area to incorporate the protection of the
marine environment and the establishment of monitoring
programmes
Finance Committee

The Finance Committee comprises 15 members elected by
the Assembly from nominations by States Parties and
include representatives from the five largest contributors
to its administrative budget. The Finance Committee
provides recommendations to the Assembly and Council on
financial matters
ANNUAL SESSIONS

The Authority holds one annual session of 2 weeks
duration at its headquarters. The sixteenth session of the
Authority will be held from 26 April to 7 May 2010.
ACTIVITIES

The Authority has been engaged in preparing and adopting
rules, regulations and procedures for prospecting ,
exploration and exploitation for mineral resources in the
Area

The Authority has completed substantive work on the
regulations and procedures for prospecting and exploration
for polymetallic nodules and is currently working to
formulate and adopt similar codes for polymetallic
sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.

All the codes include a Parallel System for the exploration
and exploitation of deep seabed minerals
The adoption of the Regulations enabled the
Authority to enter into contracts with 8 entities
for polymetallic nodules; 1 in the Central Indian
Ocean Basin (Figure 1) and 7 in the Clarion
Clipperton Zone (Figure 2). By entering into
these contracts the Authority took the first
tangible and highly significant step in the
exercise of its unique responsibility under the
Convention to administer the deep seabed area
and its resources on behalf of mankind and for
their benefit.
Above: Contractor Areas in
the Indian Ocean (above)
Left:
Contractor Areas
in the Clarion Clipperton
Zone (left)
CONTRACTORS
The contractors are the Government of India (Central Indian
Ocean Basin) and the Institut francaise de recherche pour
l’exploitation de la mer (IFREMER) of France; Deep Ocean
Resources Development Company (DORD) of Japan; State
Enterprise Yuzhmorgeologiya of the Russian Federation; China
Ocean Mineral Resource Research and Development
Association (COMRA) of the People’s Republic of China;
Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM), a consortium
formed by Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, Poland, Russian
Federation and Slovakia; the Government of the Republic of
Korea; and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural
Resources at the Federal Republic of Germany (Clarion
Clipperton Fracture Zone)
SCIENTIFIC POLICY ADVANCEMENTS IN THE AREA

1872-1876: HMS Challenger expedition travelling 70,000 nm
surveying and exploring. Discovered nodules.

1925-1927: the Meteor, (1925-1927) a major oceanographic
expedition, was launched by Germany and marked the first use
of echo sounders to survey the mid Atlantic Ridge
Walvis Ridge
Above: Walvis Ridge, Atlantic Ocean

1947: Albatross expedition investigates ocean depths
in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans

1953: Maurice Ewing and Bruce Heezen discover the
Great Global Rift running along the mid Atlantic Ridge

1957: John Mero publishes an economic discourse on
the vast potential of polymetallic nodules as sources
of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese

1960: Harry Hammond Hess develops the theory of
seafloor spreading

1968: Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) begins and confirms seafloor
spreading hypothesis by Frederick John Vine and Frummon
Hoyle Mathews published in Nature.

1977: Hydrothermal vents found in Pacific Ocean confirm
ecosystems develop without energy from the sun

1979: Discovery of 3m-long sea worms in hydrothermal vents at
2,450 m below the Galapagos Islands

1982: Adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea

1994: Entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea and the establishment of the International
Seabed Authority
POLYMETALLIC NODULES
•

Polymetallic nodules are small balls, dark-brown colored and
lightly flattened, 5 to 10 centimeters in diameter, which lay on
the seabed at 4.000 to 6.000 meters deep and contain various
metals including nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese
The grade and abundance of nodules determine the amount of
metals contained in a given area in the general range 1.1-1.6%
nickel, o.9-1.2% copper, 0.2-0.3% cobalt and 25-30% manganese
with ranges between 5.0-15 kg per square meter
Figure 6: Field
Nodule Field
Nodule
POLYMETALLIC SULPHIDES

Contain high concentrations of
copper, zinc, lead, gold and
silver and are found at inactive
hydrothermal vents which
typically form along mid-ocean
ridges where tectonic plates
diverge and new crusts form.

There are more than 300
hydrothermal venting sites 40% of these are in the “Area”
– 65% at mid-ocean ridges,
22% at back-arc basins, 12%
volcanic arcs and 1% mid plate
volcanoes

The first deposits were
discovered in 1978 across a
portion of the East Pacific Rise
of sulphide mounds up to 10ft
high

The birth of a chimney or black
smokers start when molten
rock below the seabed heats
up water circulating through
the cracks which rises, carrying
dissolved metals - from deep
within the crust. When the hot,
acidic fluid hits near freezing
seawater, the metals form the
rocky walls of the chimney.
COBALT-RICH FERROMANGANESE CRUSTS



Occur throughout the world’s
oceans on seamounts, ridges and
plateaux where currents have
kept rocks clean of sediment
Crusts are marine mineral
resources that have precipitated
over millions of years from metals
dissolved on submerged flanks of
inactive underwater volcanoes
Some seamounts called guyots
are mostly volcanic and found on
oceanic crust formed near
spreading ridges over upwelling
plumes. Half of the world’s
seamounts are found in the
Pacific Ocean


Estimates based on satellite
altimetry
indicate that
there are up to 100,000
seamounts over 1000m high.
Studies show that less than
15 of the approximately
50,000 seamounts in the
Pacific Ocean have been
mapped and sampled in
detail.
Seamounts Online estimate
that
less
than
400
seamounts
have
been
sampled and of these, less
than 100 have been
sampled in detail
3D image of a typical 56 km long
guyot with terraces and a large area
above 2,500m depth (shown in red
and orange)
3D image of a typical conical
seamount
THE FUTURE OF EXPLORATION FOR DEEP SEABED MINERALS
•
Prospecting and exploration for marine mineral resources have
an ultimate objective – the discovery and delineation of an area
of ocean floor with reserves of sufficient quantity and quality to
support a mining operation
•
While prospecting concentrates primarily on the collection of
geological data, an exploration programme also includes the
development of technology , environmental protection and
financial analysis of the prospects
•
The Authority completed and adopted rules, regulations and
procedures for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic
nodules on 13 July 2000.
•
The regulations differentiate between prospecting and
exploration in as much as the former does not confer exclusive
rights over resources in an area, are without time limit and can
be undertaken by more than one entity in the same area.
Exploration however, confers exclusive rights and has to be
undertaken under a contract with the Authority
•
The Authority is currently working on similar regulations for
polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.
•
These will provide the framework for prospecting and
exploration in the Area including the provision of exclusive
rights during exploration. With investments secured through
these instruments, a major obstacle for future exploration of
deep seabed mineral resources will be eliminated
CHALLENGES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
TO OVERCOME LETHARGY IN DEEP
SEABED MINERAL EXPLORATION
•
Participation of members at the Authority’s annual sessions
•
The inability of member states to see or derive benefits
from their own EEZ let alone from the Area
•
Lack of trained personnel to ascertain resources available in
the areas
•
Requires a concerted effort to facilitate a larger proportion
of the international community’s participation in marine
scientific research programmes

Requires international collaboration

Need exists for interested parties to form
collaborations to develop the requisite mining
technology

Work together to sustainably harvest the
ocean’s mineral resources
Thank You