Key points
- Eleanor Martin, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, explains the ISA and UNCLOS regulatory framework for seabed mining, including how private companies must have a sponsoring state and the two-year approval deadline triggered by Nauru in July 2021.
- Draft exploitation regulations remain unapproved after nearly 10 years; the ISA must now provisionally approve applications since the Nauru-triggered deadline expired.
- Royalty payments and tax-equalization measures are critical to commercial viability; environmental threshold values and harvesting-method standards for selective collection versus vacuum suction are still being developed.
