Key points
- On 19 July 2013 the ISA Council approved COMRA’s cobalt-rich crust contract area application, alongside a Japanese application.
- These were the first two approvals under the ISA’s cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust regulations.
- China gained a 3,000 km2 cobalt-rich crust area in the northwest Pacific with exclusive exploration and priority mining rights.
- China previously held a 75,000 km2 nodule area and a 10,000 km2 sulphide area.
At 11:00 local time in Jamaica on 19 July 2013, the Council of the International Seabed Authority approved the application for a cobalt-rich crust contract area submitted the previous year by the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA). An application for a cobalt-rich crust contract area submitted by Japan was approved at the same time. These are the first two exploration applications approved under the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Cobalt-Rich Ferromanganese Crusts in the Area, which the ISA finished drawing up the previous year. With this approval, China adds a 3,000 km2 cobalt-rich crust contract area in the northwest Pacific international seabed area carrying exclusive exploration rights and priority mining rights. China had previously obtained a 75,000 km2 polymetallic nodule contract area in the northeast Pacific and a 10,000 km2 polymetallic sulphide contract area in the Southwest Indian Ocean.
