ByAFP - Agence France Presse
New Zealand rethinks opposition to deep-sea mining
New Zealand is considering withdrawing its support for an international ban on deep-sea mining, the country's resources minister told AFP on Tuesday.
Resources Minister Shane Jones said opposition to the fledgling industry was rooted in “shrill” environmental alarmism and “luxury beliefs” that ignored the need for economic growth.
New Zealand backed a ban on deep-sea mining under former progressive prime minister Jacinda Ardern in 2022, citing the risk of “irreversible” damage to little-known ecosystems.
However, Jones, a senior minister in the center-right coalition government, said the authorities were rethinking this position.
“We are talking about this with our foreign minister,” he told AFP in an interview.
“We cannot deny ourselves the option where essential minerals have an increasingly important role to play.
“We cannot afford these luxury beliefs that have been imposed on us.”
Companies can make billions of dollars scraping the ocean floor in search of polymetallic nodules loaded with manganese, cobalt, copper, and nickel - metals used to build batteries for electric vehicles.
But the sector is facing strong criticism from scientists and environmental campaigners, who fear that the new techniques could wreak havoc on little-known ecosystems.
“I think seabed mining has become the ultimate green trophy, so people are throwing around the most absurd and untested theories,” said Jones.
“And I'm not going to back down in the face of these shrill voices.”
- Theater and posturing
Jones was not bothered by suggestions that a pro-mining stance could weaken support from New Zealand's climate-threatened Pacific Island neighbors.
“I understand there's a lot of theater and posturing when small island nations go to international forums,” he said.
“We have imposed an ideological corset on ourselves, which we can no longer afford to wear.”
Deep-sea mining is one of the few issues on which Pacific Island nations are divided.
Nauru and Tonga are pushing for deep-sea mining in international waters, while Palau, Samoa, and Fiji are firmly opposed.
The Metals Company, based in Canada, has been working with the Nauru government in the hope of starting mining by 2026.
Jones, a Harvard graduate, recently unveiled a pro-mining agenda that differs greatly from the environmentally friendly policies of the former Ardern government.
Under Jones, the isolated island nation will seek to extract everything from essential minerals to coal and iron-rich sands on the seabed.
New Zealand's desire to extract this sand is different from deep sea mining, which targets polymetallic chunks located in much deeper waters.
- 'Little pimple'
“We think the seabed is a legitimate part of our wider primary sector economy,” said Jones.
“It would seem strange if we were mining minerals in our ocean environment, but we're telling others not to.”
New Zealand has long relied on a “green and clean” image that highlights its rolling grasslands, untouched rainforests, and pristine waterways.
Ardern was praised during her term as a climate hero when she banned offshore gas exploration in 2018.
However, the current government has already moved to reverse that ban, with Jones occasionally voicing the “drill, baby, drill” mantra favored by US President Donald Trump.
“The pendulum has swung too far, driven by an agreed climate catastrophization in which mining has been demonized,” Jones said.
“Climate change will require us to adapt, but New Zealand is such a small spine about the world's emissions that we can say we are irrelevant.”
sft/pbt
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