On March 20 local time, the China Deep-sea and Ocean Affairs Administration held a side event titled “Pre-commercial Mining: Protecting the Deep-sea Environment, Advancing Resource Development” during the first part of the Council meeting of the 30th session of the International Seabed Authority, convened in Kingston, Jamaica.
Zhang Dan, associate research fellow at the China Institute for Marine Affairs of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and Zhang Dongsheng, research fellow at the Second Institute of Oceanography, introduced the legal framework and the environmental significance of pre-commercial mining respectively, and Tian Yulong, chief resources officer of Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., shared China’s successful experience in land-based mining. ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho, Ambassador Chen Daojiang, China’s Permanent Representative to the ISA, senior secretariat officials and more than 150 delegates attending the ISA’s 30th session took part in the side event.
The concept of pre-commercial mining was put forward by the Chinese government in September 2024 in its overall comments to the ISA on the draft exploitation regulations. By establishing a pre-commercial mining phase as a transition from exploration to commercial exploitation, it seeks to obtain more comprehensive and realistic environmental impact data, build more reliable scientific understanding, bridge the divide between environmental protection and resource development, and advance the negotiation of the exploitation regulations.
The side event showed the international community the concrete measures China is taking to advance the negotiation of the ISA’s exploitation regulations, bridge differences, build consensus and promote the principle of the common heritage of mankind. It drew an enthusiastic response from participants and achieved good results.
