Executive Summary
In a world where the rapid growth of AI and rising demand for electronic equipment are driving renewed interest in critical minerals, deep-sea mining is attracting political and industrial interest as proponents see it as a potential source of nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese that could help diversify global mineral supplies.
This prospect nevertheless remains controversial: the environmental impacts of exploiting deep-sea ecosystems are still largely uncertain, and there is no basis for claiming that it would automatically provide a cleaner alternative to land-based mining.
In April 2025, US President Donald Trump accelerated this trend by directing American authorities to facilitate the exploration and exploitation of seabed mineral resources, including those beyond national jurisdictions.
Trump’s approach is grounded in the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980, as the United States has never ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Against this backdrop, in July 2026, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) concluded its 31st session without finalising the long-awaited ‘Mining Code’, while extending Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI), a subsidiary of The Metals Company (TMC),’s exploration contract for a further five years, despite an ongoing compliance investigation. Just days earlier, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) had required the ISA to uphold due process guarantees in the case.
Key Facts & Figures
- 20 July 2026: The ISA Council approved a five-year extension of NORI’s exploration contract, two days after an ITLOS ruling requiring the rights of NORI and Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. (TOML) to due process to be upheld.
- 46 countries, including seven Pacific states, now support a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining.
- Vanuatu’s proposal to give greater weight to scientific evidence in ISA decision-making failed to reach consensus.
- The Mining Code, under negotiation since 2014, remains unfinished.
- The Clarion-Clipperton Zone contains polymetallic nodules rich in nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, which are used across several industrial and energy supply chains.
Background & Context
The ISA administers ‘the Area’, meaning the seabed and ocean floor beyond national jurisdiction, under Part XI of UNCLOS. Its resources are considered the ‘common heritage of mankind’ and must therefore be managed and exploited within an international framework.
The United States is pursuing a different approach, with the 2025 presidential order seeking to accelerate US authorisations outside the ISA framework.
TMC’s US subsidiary has therefore applied for permits through this route, while its Nauru- and Tonga-sponsored subsidiaries retain their contracts with the ISA. This hybrid strategy has contributed to the dispute between TMC and the Authority.
Current Status & Trends
Three key dynamics are emerging.
The first is institutional deadlock: the ISA has extended a disputed contract while the substantive dispute remains unresolved. Greenpeace has described this as a ‘dangerous precedent’, while the ITLOS ruling was essentially procedural and does not amount to a clear victory for either side.
The second is the growing coalition in favour of a moratorium. It now represents more than a quarter of ISA members, but remains politically heterogeneous and, on its own, lacks the power to block decisions within the 36-member Council.
Finally, a geopolitical dynamic is emerging. As the ISA remains deadlocked and US policy evolves, some Pacific states are exploring new partnerships, particularly with China. These developments highlight the risk that spaces left open by traditional partners could increasingly be filled by new powers.
The central question, therefore, is whether the deep seabed will become the arena for a new economic competition between powers capable of exploiting its resources, or whether the international community will succeed in preserving its status as the common heritage of mankind, ensuring genuinely collective governance of these areas and their resources.