COMRA
The China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association holds three exploration contracts from the International Seabed Authority, covering polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts. It is one of only two contractors in the world holding all three mineral types.
It is not a company. Approved by China’s State Council in April 1990, it runs as one organisation under two nameplates: a national industry association, and the China Deep-sea and Ocean Affairs Administration, a public institution of the Ministry of Natural Resources. One official holds the senior post in both.
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Overview
- Approved by the State Council on April 9, 1990, and based in Beijing. Its charter expressly authorises it to act as a contractor to the International Seabed Authority.
- It holds three exploration contracts. That ties it with the governments of Korea and India for the most held by any single entity, and China sponsors five of the authority’s contracts, more than any other state.
- The nodule contract came first, in May 2001, over 75,000 km² of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. It has been extended three times and now runs to 2031.
- The sulphide contract followed in November 2011 over the Southwest Indian Ridge. The original 10,000 km² has been cut to 2,500 km² through the relinquishment the rules require. The council approved a five-year extension on July 20, 2026, so it now runs to November 17, 2031.
- The cobalt crust contract was signed in April 2014 over 3,000 km² of seamounts in the western Pacific, expiring in April 2029.
- It does not own the ships. It tasks vessels and equipment belonging to Chinese state institutes, and its work is organised as numbered national cruises.
- Its equipment programme is substantial and largely built to its own commission: a crewed submersible rated to 7,000 metres, remotely operated vehicles rated to 6,000 and 11,000 metres, and autonomous vehicles built specifically for nodule and for sulphide work.
- The nodule collector it commissioned, Kunlong 500, was built by the deep-sea institute of China Minmetals with a group of Chinese universities and completed a 500 metre class sea trial in 2018.
- Its position at the authority is that mining should begin on a pre-commercial basis, a proposal it put forward in September 2024 and pitched at a council side event in March 2025.
The three contracts
| Mineral | Area | Where | Signed | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polymetallic nodules | 75,000 km² | Clarion-Clipperton Zone, northeast Pacific | May 22, 2001 | May 21, 2031, after a third five-year extension approved on March 18, 2026 |
| Polymetallic sulphides | 10,000 km² as granted, reduced to 2,500 km² by relinquishment | Southwest Indian Ridge | Nov. 18, 2011 | November 17, 2031, after a five-year extension approved on July 20, 2026, effective November 18, 2026 |
| Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts | 3,000 km² | Magellan seamounts, western Pacific | Apr. 29, 2014 | Apr. 28, 2029 |
The authority’s own public tables had not been updated to show either extension when checked on October 3, 2026, and still showed the nodule contract expiring in May 2026 and the sulphide contract in November 2026. The council decisions are the better source. The association applied to extend the sulphide contract on May 15, 2026. The authority’s commission found that it had made good-faith efforts but, for reasons beyond its control, had been unable to complete the preparatory work for exploitation, and recommended approval on July 10, 2026.
Ships and equipment
| Asset | What it is | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dayang Yihao | Ocean-going research vessel, hull built 1984, in Chinese service since 1995 | Carried most of the early cruises and has run 27 national deep-sea cruises. Recovered China’s first sulphide core in 2016. |
| Dayang Hao | Purpose-built survey vessel, 98.5 m, delivered 2019 | Ran the 2026 cruise to the sulphide area and surveyed the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone in late 2025. |
| Shenhai Yihao | Submersible support mother ship | Carries the crewed submersible. Together with Dayang Hao it completed 17 national cruises in its first five years. |
| Jiaolong | Crewed submersible rated to 7,000 m | Reached 7,062 m in the Mariana Trench in 2012 and made ten dives on a hydrothermal field inside the sulphide contract area over the winter of 2014 to 2015. |
| Hailong III and Hailong 11000 | Work-class remotely operated vehicles rated to 6,000 m and 11,000 m | Developed under this organisation by a Shanghai university. The larger set a Chinese depth record of 5,630 m in 2018. |
| Qianlong-1 and Qianlong-2 | Autonomous underwater vehicles rated to 6,000 m and 4,500 m | Built to its commission, the first for measuring nodule abundance and seabed conditions, the second specifically for sulphide areas. |
| Kunlong 500 | Seabed nodule collector | Built by China Minmetals’ deep-sea institute with several universities. Sea trial in 2018, accepted that September. |
It describes this equipment as its three dragons, being the crewed submersible, the remotely operated vehicle and the autonomous vehicle, plus four instrument systems. The hulls and the institutes belong to the Chinese state rather than to this organisation.
Ownership
There are no shareholders. This is a Chinese state body: an association registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and supervised by the Ministry of Natural Resources, operating alongside a public institution of that same ministry, with one official holding the senior post in both. China’s Deep Sea Law, in force from May 1, 2016, is the domestic statute under which it and other Chinese contractors operate.
Listed exposure
There is none. No listed security anywhere gives exposure to this organisation. Its survey vessel was built by a yard belonging to a listed Chinese shipbuilder, but that is a supplier relationship and confers no interest in the contracts or the minerals. Several of the Chinese entities it works with are covered separately on this site, including China Minmetals, whose institute built its nodule collector.