The Next Great Sea Battle
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A high-stakes meeting was held in July at the headquarters of the United Nations' International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica. Countries were arguing over whether mining companies should be allowed to start reaping rare earth minerals 5,000 meters (just over three miles) under the ocean's surface. The clock was ticking. A legal loophole discovered by Canadian mining business The Metals Company, in partnership with the Micronesian island nation of Nauru, meant that the ISA was supposed to decide how companies could get cracking on deep sea mining that same month.
While some nations, including China and Norway, were keen to commence open season in the deep sea, others, like Germany and France, fought for a moratorium, arguing it could cause untold ecological damage. In the end, they managed to delay the decision until the next ISA board meeting in July 2024, but the countries anxious to start mining are unlikely to sit on their shovels until then.
Source Fool.com
