A Canadian deep-sea mining company may become the first to commercially mine the international seabed under a controversial U.S. executive order that bypasses United Nations regulations. A recent legal analysis suggests that this could place Canada in violation of international law.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that an application made by Vancouver-based The Metals Company (via their U.S. subsidiary, TMC USA) is fully compliant with NOAA regulations. The next steps include publication of a draft environmental impact statement for public comment, which TMC expects will lead to a permit to mine the seabed by the first quarter of 2027.

As demand for critical minerals grows, governments worldwide are increasingly looking past their borders and coastlines towards the deep sea for mineral resources.

Of particular interest are the billions of tonnes of polymetallic nodules rich in cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements that lie unattached on the seafloor, four to six kilometres below the water surface.

Modern engineering techniques are making polymetallic nodule mining more economically viable for mining companies. However, a complicating factor is that most polymetallic nodules lie in international waters, outside any single country’s territory.

Around 90 per cent of UN member states have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which asserts that the deep sea is the........

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