Kiribati has terminated its partnership with The Metals Company (TMC), a leader in deep-sea mining, relinquishing exploration rights over a 74,990 square kilometre seabed area in the northeastern Pacific.
This decision paves the way for China to expand its influence in the region’s contentious deep-sea mining industry. Kiribati’s Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources announced recent discussions with China’s ambassador to “explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep ocean resources.”
Environmental groups view TMC’s setback as indicative of broader industry challenges. Greenpeace’s deep-sea mining campaigner, Louisa Casson, commented, “The self-styled industry frontrunner is crumbling. The last weeks have repeatedly shown that the deep-sea mining industry is failing to live up to its hype and downsizing plans before it’s even started.”
TMC’s CEO, Gerard Barron, explained that a US$15 million exploration mission revealed fewer nodules in Kiribati’s area compared to regions near Nauru and Tonga. He stated, “We just found that it wasn’t as abundant in nodules as some of the neighbouring ground that we have with Nauru and Tonga.”
As Kiribati strengthens ties with China, other Pacific nations express concerns. The Cook Islands recently signed a strategic partnership with China, covering sectors like deep-sea mining, leading to domestic protests over transparency and potential environmental impacts.
