The Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) Caribbean and the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) will host a knowledge-sharing session about deep sea mining on Thursday, July 25.

The session is intended to explore in detail the economic and legal implications of deep-sea mining, especially for Jamaica as a sponsoring state.

Deep Sea Mining (DSM) involves extracting minerals and metals from the ocean floor at depths exceeding 200 meters. The current proposal for DSM is within the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean, targeting polymetallic nodules containing metals such as copper, manganese, nickel, and cobalt.

In 2021, the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) signed a 15-year contract with Blue Minerals Jamaica (BMJ) for the exploration of polymetallic nodules in the CCZ.

JET CEO Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie said, “Even though, at the moment, the discussions about deep sea mining are focused on the Pacific Ocean, as Jamaicans, we should be concerned. Jamaica is a sponsoring state, which means that Jamaica faces potential liability issues if the contractor fails to fulfill its responsibilities. Additionally, the economic gains for the country are likely to be negligible compared to the environmental destruction our oceans might face.”

The presentations at the knowledge-sharing session are intended to address the concerns surrounding liability and the economic viability of DSM for Jamaica.

SOA Caribbean Projects and Administrative Coordinator Robyn Young said, “We are really pleased to host this event along with JET because it’s an important conversation that is not happening in Jamaica. We have previously been highlighting the potential environmental impacts of DSM, especially in the Caribbean region. While this is useful, we want to now change the focus a bit and expand the conversation to focus on the legal and economic implications of DSM. We hope, with this event, to receive a much greater response from key stakeholders.”

The knowledge-sharing session, hosted by Caribbean marine biologist Dr Diva Amon, will feature presentations by Hannah Lily, a legal consultant with a specialisation in deep seabed mining, and Madeline Warner of The Ocean Foundation, which recently published a report outlining that Deep Sea Mining is not worth the Financial Risk.