ISA announces new licence applications

The International Seabed Authority, the body charged with regulating the exploitation of seabed resources in international waters, has recently annouced that it has received three new applications for mineral exploration activity in the deep sea. These applications were made in December 2013 by i) Germany for the exploration of polymetallic sulphides in the central Indian Ocean; ii) the Cook Islands Investment Corporation for exploration of polymetallic nodules in the reserved area of the G-TEC Sea Mineral Resources NV claim area in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the Pacific Ocean, and iii) Brazil for exploration of Cobalt-rich Ferromanganese Crust in the Rio Grande Rise in the southern Atlantic. In accordance with the ISA's regulations, these applications will be considered at the next meeting of the ISA's Legal and Technical Commission, which is scheduled for early February 2014. For full details, please visit the ISA website.