Benefits - where is the money?
Why should anyone be interested in deep seabed mining? Why should anyone know anything about something that takes place so far from their home or field of interest? I have already tried to answer these questions in my first Blog post Bottom line but if my writing is not persuasive enough, I will try to influence you a bit more as today we will talk about money. Money is something that everyone is familiar with, working for, or even craves for at some point.
There is no exact value of the minerals that reside at the seafloor, but it is considered that the deep seabed mining industry could be worth 1trn USD to the US economy each year.1 If you recall the previous Blog post Principles, the main principle indicates that the deep seabed resources belong to everyone, not to any country or any entity. So, in theory, everyone can profit from such deep seabed resources.
A few ways exist to tap directly into this pile of money and gain money from deep seabed mining. Some of those ways are more complicated than others. Let us try to create a classification depending on the type of subject:
1. For states (developed countries) are the first to serve (including their entities) when it comes to opportunities to engage in deep seabed mining. So, any state that is a part of the existing legal regime (it will be discussed as part of existing legal framework) can engage in deep seabed mining if the correct procedure is followed.
2. For states (developing countries) and their entities. This separation between developed and developing countries is very noticeable in the legal framework of deep seabed mining. Developing countries have additional possibilities to engage in deep seabed mining. They have certain parts of the Area reserved for them to mine. Also, various capacity building activities are available for them. Nevertheless, considering that in most cases developing countries have less financial and technical resources the highest chance for them is to get engaged into deep seabed mining through joint ventures, in cooperation with other countries, or private entities. Obviously, it means less money but more than nothing.
3. For private entities can engage in deep seabed mining as well. The procedure for private companies to engage in deep seabed mining is a bit complicated. As one of the conditions, these private entities must have backing from one or a few states. The backing is foreseen as a sponsorship between a state and the private entity which means that the sponsoring state might be held liable for damage caused by the private entity. Thus, there is an additional risk for states when it comes to the sponsorship. Consequently, the private entity must reach an agreement with the state to receive their sponsorship. This agreement might be another way for states (more important for developing states) to profit from deep seabed mining without direct engagement. As private entities could pay taxes or agree to pay a certain amount to receive its sponsorship.2
4. There is the last special entity that could start deep seabed mining on behalf of humankind. It is called the Enterprise and it is supposed to be created for the sole purpose of deep seabed mining. The aim of this special subject is to mine deep seabed and the profit would be used for the benefit of all. Nevertheless, the Enterprise is only alive in legal documents and probably will never start to function at all.
There is no fifth option where a private person could start deep seabed mining on its own (not that you would be able to). However, not everything is lost even for a private person who is not actively involved in deep seabed mining (which is highly the case). Some additional money can be found because somebody else is using resources that belong to you too. Therefore, it should pay you or Share Benefits.3
Even if you sit by the TV while some states or private entities exploit deep seabed resources, in theory, you should get a part of the profit too. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you exactly how or how much you can get, as resource exploitation still has not started yet. Nevertheless, international institutions are working hard to create a good Benefit Sharing system which I will present when there will be a chance, so you would know, how you or your country can profit from deep seabed mining even if you chose to sit by the TV.
1The New Economy - Deep-sea mining could provide access to a wealth of valuable minerals. Accessed 12 February 2021
2For more detail see Greenpeace report p.22 https://www.greenpeace.org/international/publication/45835/deep-sea-mining-exploitation/
3UNCLOS 140