UN debates deep sea mining as countries and companies now allowed to seek provisional licenses

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A U.N. agency tasked with regulating the deep sea is debating whether to open the Earth’s watery depths to countries and companies that are now allowed to start applying for provisional mining licenses. The International Seabed Authority is based in Jamaica and launched a two-week conference on the issue Monday. That’s one day after it missed a deadline to approve a set of rules and regulations to govern deep sea mining in international waters. The authority has issued more than 30 exploration licenses but no provisional licenses so far. More than a dozen countries have called for a ban or moratorium given environmental concerns.