SPC Geoscience Division

Home News & Media Releases Latest PNG grants first seabed mining licence

PNG grants first seabed mining licence

Friday, 21 January 2011 11:09 administrator
E-mail Print PDF

"Rousing times are ahead in the mining and petroleum industry when the PNG Government created history by granting the first world deep sea mining lease to Nautilus Minerals Inc of Canada for the development of its Solwara 1 project in the Bismarck Sea."1

Go to the following link1 to read the full Papua New Guinea Post Courier 12th January article advising of the world's first mining lease for seabed mining.

"This marks an historic moment for nonliving resources development in the Pacific islands region", commented Dr. Russell Howorth, Director for Applied Geoscience and Technology Divison, SPC.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 03 May 2011 16:56  

Newsflash

18/06/2012 - Brazil By: Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Rio de Janeiro
Source: PACNEWS

It’s been suggested that Pacific Island Countries and territories wishing to make use of resources on the deep seafloor for economic returns need to adopt a "precautionary approach".

This can simply be interpreted as "in any development where there are threats of serious harm to the marine environment, the lack of full scientific data shall not be used as a reason for postponing that development", said Dr Russell Howorth, director of SOPAC Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

But, that particular development, he added should use cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.

The ‘precautionary approach’ has been in existence in Rio principle 15 for 20 years but hardly used in the context of bringing the economic benefits of the resources of Pacific islanders to improve their livelihoods, said Dr Howorth while addressing Oceans Day at the Rio +20 conference here in Rio de Janeiro.