Deep Sea Mining Bill

Baroness Wilcox Excerpts

Friday 7th February 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Wilcox]

That the Bill be read a second time.

[Baroness Wilcox (Con)]

My Lords, some noble Lords will be aware of my keen interest in the sea as a native of Plymouth, with its rich maritime history. So my curiosity was drawn to this Deep Sea Mining Bill, despite its less than auspicious title. Now, knowing more about it, I am persuaded of the importance of this Bill and of UK involvement in deep sea mining, including, paradoxically, for the marine environment.

First, let me explain the essence of what this Bill is about because deep sea mining is still an industry in its infancy, working in an environment about which little is known, and I suspect the subject is perhaps new to a few of my noble colleagues.

Back in the 1970s, when the deep sea mining provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—UNCLOS—were being negotiated, polymetallic nodules were the only mineral resource envisaged as commercially exploitable in the deep sea. No doubt this was due to the relative ease of access to them. Polymetallic nodules lie on the seabed or partially submerged in the sediment on the seabed. So while they are found only at great depths, at least 3,000 metres deep and up to 6,000 metres deep, no drilling would be required to harvest them.

Why would these lumps of rock be exploitable? The clue is in the name: polymetallic nodules. It is for the metal content. Polymetallic nodules are potato-like rocks in shape and size, by which I mean smallish, but variable. They are created by the accretion of minerals from the seabed under great pressure over some millions of years and in places they lie in great abundance on the sea floor. They contain a variety of metals, mainly manganese, but also iron, aluminium, copper, nickel, cobalt and some rare earth elements. Moreover, some of these metals are found in greater concentration in polymetallic nodules than they are in mineral sources on land.

Around that time, the Deep Sea Mining (Temporary Provisions) Act 1981 was passed. This allowed the Government to license companies for the exploration and exploitation of polymetallic nodules in the deep sea in areas beyond any state’s national jurisdiction. Let me be clear that for the purposes of the Bill, we are talking of areas at least beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast of any state. Potentially, we are referring to areas in the southern Indian Ocean, a swathe down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and extensive areas of the Pacific Ocean.

The reason for the “Temporary Provisions” in the title was in recognition that international rules on deep sea mining were still being negotiated as part of UNCLOS. The convention was eventually finalised in 1982. It defined the deep seabed and its resources as the common heritage of mankind. This novel concept meant that they did not belong to any one state: it was not going to be the case of a free-for-all. Under UNCLOS, the benefits from the minerals are to be shared among states, particularly developing nations. UNCLOS provided for the establishment of the International Seabed Authority, based in Jamaica, to oversee the exploration and exploitation of minerals in the deep sea, and ultimately to oversee the sharing of the benefits.

Some 30 years on, despite the early expectation that deep sea mining was imminent, the International Seabed Authority issued its first contract for the exploration of polymetallic nodules to a commercial operator only in 2011. A year later, the ISA approved an application for exploration of these nodules by a UK company, and subsequently signed a contract with them in 2013. The UK Government have sponsored a second application by the same company, and this is expected to be approved by the ISA at its meeting in 2014.

Why, when the Government are already able to issue licences to UK companies, and then sponsor their application to the ISA, do we then need a new Bill to amend the Deep Sea Mining (Temporary Provisions) Act 1981? The answer is twofold. First, the 1981 Act predated UNCLOS and, on a few small and technical issues, it is not compatible with the convention. In this new and developing industry, and as one of the early sponsors of a commercial operator exploring in the deep sea, it is important that the United Kingdom sets a good example to others by demonstrating that it upholds international law in every respect, and that it is able to act accordingly as and when required.

Secondly, in recent years the ISA has agreed regulations for the exploration of two other mineral types: polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts. The 1981 Act allows the Government to issue licences only for exploration and exploitation of polymetallic nodules. If the Government cannot license for exploration of other minerals, they cannot demonstrate that they have legislative oversight of the operations of the company concerned and thus they cannot sponsor an application to the ISA. It would be a great shame if, as would be likely, a United Kingdom company then applied for sponsorship to another state. The United Kingdom would, in effect, be turning business away.

The second amendment therefore widens the definition of what is licensable from polymetallic nodules to all mineral resources. This means that the Government can license applications for the exploration and exploitation of polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts. It also means that if the ISA introduces regulations for the exploration of different mineral types in the future, such as oil and gas, no further amendments to United Kingdom legislation will be needed.

Now that I have explained what the Bill does with two apparently small amendments to the 1981 Act, that begs the question of why the Bill is so important. There are two main reasons. I will not be shy in saying that the first is for the economic value to the United Kingdom. Noble Lords will be only too aware that the price of metals has rocketed over the past decade or so. Alas, the consequences have been felt by some of us with rail services having been disrupted when power cables, and occasionally the rails themselves, have disappeared. Metal prices are no doubt why commercial companies are now looking hard at the possibility of deep sea mining. New sources of supply would be hugely beneficial.

For some metals, particularly rare earths required for a lot of modern technology applications, there is a near monopolistic source of supply. In these cases, there are additional, important, strategic benefits in the diversification of supply. Another area of potential benefits is in job creation. Deep sea mining should play to some of the UK’s industrial and technological strengths that have developed over the decades of oil and gas mining in the North Sea, some of which has occurred at great depths. The United Kingdom has, for example, developed some of the most advanced autonomous underwater vehicles—mini-submarines to you and me—which can go down to great depth for exploring and studying the deep seabed. We can also expect our science and academic community, which already has some expertise in the deep ocean floor, to benefit from the study of the environment. It gives me great pleasure to mention the University of Plymouth, which is to benefit from a link-up with the commercial company that the UK Government have licensed. I went to that university when it was a polytechnic, and was honoured to become one of its first governors and am now able to hold an honorary science doctorate from there, so I am prejudiced.

The more direct taxable benefits are difficult to quantify because the industry is still at the exploration stage. International regulations for exploitation have yet to be developed. A good understanding of the environment on the deep seabed has yet to be fully realised. Full environmental impact studies based on the technologies for mining, which are themselves still to be developed, are still some way off. The negotiations for how the revenue from any mining operation is to be shared between the operator, the sponsoring state and the ISA on behalf of the common heritage of mankind have yet to take place. Despite the uncertainty of the regulatory framework for exploitation, and despite this being still a few years off, I am certain that it will happen. There seems little doubt about this, as I noted with interest that both the Government and the Opposition accepted this point in their deliberations in the other place.

That brings me to my second reason why the Bill is important. If we accept that deep sea mining will happen, we want it to do so adhering to the highest possible environmental standards. The United Kingdom will be best placed to help that happen if it is at the forefront of the industry. The Government can do this domestically by, first, carrying out due diligence on the companies applying for a UK licence to ensure that they are able to carry out their proposed work; secondly, ensuring that the applications they consider for a licence employ the best possible standards; and, thirdly, maintaining oversight of the activities and reports of the company during the lifetime of its licence. I know that I am reassured by the idea of a company being given a licence by the UK Government, rather than by many other Governments which I might not name, and which might not be as thorough as ours.

At an international level, backed up by the example set by United Kingdom companies, the Government have assured me that they will argue for the best possible standards in the negotiations over what should go into the mining regulations. As Kerry McCarthy said at Third Reading in the other place,

“we want to be at the forefront not just because of the business opportunities afforded to the UK, but in order to be able to determine standards for ourselves rather than leaving it to others who may not consider environmental protection as important as we do”.—[Official Report, Commons, 24/1/14; col. 584.]

I feel bound to add that Kerry McCarthy also proposed an amendment on Report. This was with the expressed intention of strengthening the environmental requirements under which the Government may offer a licence for exploration or exploitation of minerals on the deep seabed. I am assured that this is unnecessary because there are already sufficient powers for the Government to impose high environmental standards. Moreover, as knowledge of the deep sea environment increases and technology improves, the Bill provides the flexibility for the Government to adapt and increase the standards they consider applicable.

On this basis, with support from the Government and thus far from the Opposition too, I am pleased to support this Private Member’s Bill. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Wilcox]

My Lords, I have been fortunate indeed to have as my Minister someone with whom I have worked over time. My noble friend Lord Wallace of Saltaire knows the area that we are talking about and certainly knows the sea very well; it is certainly worth having him on board. I am always interested to hear about the career of the noble Lord, Lord Triesman, because he has always done something with which I have been involved somewhere along the line. He is a man of many parts—there is no doubt about that—and I am very grateful to him.

I should have started my earlier remarks by of course thanking Sheryll Murray, who introduced the Bill in another place. I also thank the FCO officials who have done a wonderful job of giving me a superb briefing and making me sound as if I really know what I am talking about on this very complex subject. However, it is an exciting subject. For me, anything to do with the sea is an exciting subject. So little is known yet about the potential impact of deep sea exploitation but because we are coming at it in the way we are, and with the support of all sides of the House, I am extremely grateful and hope that we will move forward at speed.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

House adjourned at 12.54 pm.