ISA Mining Code

The Mining Code refers to the comprehensive set of rules, regulations, and procedures that the International Seabed Authority (ISA) issues to regulate efforts to prospect, explore, and exploit marine minerals in the international seabed area (the Area). The Mining Code comprises two major components: exploration and exploitation. The ISA adopted three sets of exploration regulations covering prospecting and exploration for polymetallic nodules (2000 and revised 2013), polymetallic sulfides (2010) and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts (2012), and, in 2014, began to develop regulations to govern efforts to exploit mineral resources in the Area.

Exploration in The Area 

Source: ISA, “Status of exploration activities in the Area”, Feb. 2024

 

 

To date, the ISA has issued exploration contracts only. The ISA targeted July 2020 as the date that it would complete and adopt its exploitation regulatory regime, but the coronavirus pandemic of 2019 (COVID-19) delayed its efforts. Despite the delay, it has continued to make significant progress on the exploitation regulatory regime’s major components. The ISA Council revised its roadmap in July 2023 and reiterated its commitment to work in good faith to complete the regulations. In November, it agreed to consolidate, harmonize, and clean up the draft text into one document, making it easier to negotiate¹—which signals the transition to the final phase of negotiations. On 16 February 2024, it released the consolidated text which will be negotiated in the next Council sessions.

The Mining Code’s exploitation component has three major parts:

1. Exploitation regulations
2. Standards and guidelines
3. Benefit sharing

The work to develop regulations for exploitation of mineral resources in the Area started with preliminary work in expert workshops and involved various expert studies and discussion papers, which culminated in draft regulations prepared by the ISA Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) for the Council to consider. Stakeholders continue to participate in drafting the regulations through a transparent process².

The draft regulations on exploitation of mineral resources in the Area require that various ISA organs develop certain standards and guidelines to help the ISA implement the regulations. The standards will be legally binding on contractors and the ISA, whereas the guidelines will be recommendatory in nature. The LTC recommended a three-phase approach for their development:

• Phase 1: Standards and guidelines deemed necessary to be in place by the time of adoption of the draft regulations on exploitation.
• Phase 2: Standards and guidelines deemed necessary to be in place prior to the receipt of an application of a plan of work for exploitation.
• Phase 3: Standards and guidelines deemed necessary to be in place before commercial mining activities commence in the Area³.

Phase 1 generated 10 standards and guidelines, which remain with Council for final discussion and approval after undergoing revision based on stakeholder consultation.

The financial regime that the ISA will establish will require contractors to make royalty payments to the ISA, which the ISA will share according to “equitable sharing criteria”. The ISA has conducted research and consultation to consider mechanisms to share the financial benefits.

1. ISA, “ISA Council closes Part III of the 28th session with the agreement to deliver the consolidated text of the draft exploitation regulations to pursue negotiations in March 2024", 9 Nov. 2023
2. ISA, “The Mining Code: Draft Exploitation Regulations”
3. ISA, “The Mining Code: Standards and Guidelines”