SYDNEY, Friday 28 March 2025 — Greenpeace has slammed deep sea mining frontrunner The Metals Company (TMC) as ‘greedy, dangerous and desperate’ after it announced plans to bypass procedure at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) by applying for a mining licence under the US mining code, effectively turning its back on its Pacific sponsoring states.
The announcement rocked the ISA in its penultimate day, with TMC due to have its mining application agenda item heard early Saturday (AEST). TMC’s decision to use the United States’ Deep Sea Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) encourages an undermining of – and could be in breach of – international law[1].
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the move was a “kick in the guts” for the Pacific and threatens multilateralism.
“TMC is showing its true colours – greedy, dangerous and desperate. It’s crystal clear that TMC has never cared about economic prosperity or jobs for the people of Nauru, Kiribati or Tonga, nor did it ever care about addressing the climate crisis. TMC has only ever cared about one thing: filling its own pockets with money made at the expense of our Pacific lifeblood – the ocean. The Pacific is not a commodity; the deep sea mining industry is pushing to exploit Pacific resources and communities for profit – it can’t keep happening.
“This move risks leaving Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga high and dry, and is an insult to multilateralism. TMC has been trying to pressure the international community to meet its demands at the ISA, pressuring and manipulating Pacific governments with the promise of a brighter, greener future. Now the facade has crumbled, and TMC leaves behind a trail of broken promises.
“Deep sea mining is in trouble. TMC may be taking the first chance it gets to turn its back on Nauru, and is taking any avenue to push through their desperate and dying agenda, in this case, even if it could breach international law. Desperation breeds deceit, and TMC has never been more desperate.”
Currently, 32 countries have backed a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep sea mining, including Tuvalu, Palau, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu and Samoa. Australia has not.
Gounden added: “This isn’t the end of the road. What TMC has proven is that where there are cracks, there is crawlspace, and it has highlighted the need for a moratorium or precautionary pause.
“The decision on the future of the ocean must be a process that centres the rights and voices of Pacific communities as the traditional custodians, not neocolonialist corporations. We are most effective when we work together, and the Pacific Ocean is calling for us to stand united now.”
The ISA will meet for its final day today, where it is still expected to discuss what governments could do if TMC still puts in an application to the ISA without any rules in place.
Leaders will have a crucial chance to show their support for ocean protection by supporting a moratorium on deep sea mining at the UN Ocean Conference, which will be held in Nice, France, just a few weeks before the ISA July Assembly.
—ENDS—
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Kimberley Bernard on +61 407 581 404 or [email protected]
Photos available in the Greenpeace Media Library
Notes to Editor
[1] The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 has 170 parties, which are the vast majority of all States. It is known as the constitution for the oceans. After the United States and others had various issues with the concluded convention and concluded a further Agreement (Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982) which is known as the 1994 Agreement which was specifically about deep-sea mining – Part XI of UNCLOS. The United States has signed the 1994 Agreement, and most countries agree that UNCLOS is customary international law, so the US is still bound by UNCLOS and particularly Part XI. UNCLOS has numerous crucial parts, addressing maritime boundaries, the freedom of navigation, management of fisheries, pollution, environmental protection and marine scientific research as well as deep-sea mining.
