Norway parliament deal marks major step towards seabed mining (updated)

Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding ASA

05/12/2023 11:59

(Adds mining company, WWF in paragraphs 10-12)
    By Victoria Klesty
       OSLO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Norway's minority government and
two opposition parties have agreed to allow seabed mineral
exploration in the Arctic region, they said on Tuesday, in a key
step towards full-scale ocean mining.
    The deal comes as Norway hopes to become the first country
to make deep-sea mining happen on a commercial scale and secure
critical minerals and jobs despite concerns over the
environmental impact and international calls for a moratorium.
    The amended version of the government's proposal, which
parliament will formally debate on Jan. 4 followed by a vote,
sets stricter environmental survey requirements during the
exploration phase than originally planned.
    The compromise also gives parliament the final say at a
later date on whether to approve full-scale mining based on data
gathered from the deep-sea environment during the initial
exploration.
    The deal was agreed between the two parties in the minority
government - Labour and the Centre Party - and the opposition
Conservatives and the Progress Party, securing a comfortable
majority.
    Baard Ludvig Thorheim, a member of parliament for the
Conservatives, told Reuters the environmental bar for seabed
mining had been set fairly high in the amended proposal.
    "We believe, and hope, it will become the international
standard for this activity," he said. "At the same time it is
important that it is a framework that is predictable for
commercial players, on which we rely on for these activities."
    He said the parties had hotly debated how to balance the
need for environmental requirements against commercial viability
for companies seeking to start marine mining.
    "If the demands are too steep and too complicated, there
won't be any interest, but at the same time it is also in these
companies' interest to partake in an activity that has a good
reputation and adheres to demands on sustainability," he said.
    Seabed mining start-up Loke Marine Minerals, which is backed
by investors such as oil service company Technip FMC and
Norwegian maritime group Wilhelmsen, welcomed the decision.
    "Great day not only for Norway but for the world," Loke CEO
Walter Sognnes Norway told Reuters. "We need to have a fact-
based evaluation of deep sea minerals as a provider of critical
minerals for the green energy transition."
    Environmental group WWF, however, said the decision to move
forward damaged Norway's reputation for ocean preservation but
added it hoped parliament would eventually block any move to
full-scale mining.

 (Reporting by Victoria Klesty; additional reporting by Nerijus
Adomaitis; editing by Terje Solsvik, Sandra Maler and Jane
Merriman)
 ((victoria.klesty@thomsonreuters.com; +47 2331 6592; Reuters
Messaging: victoria.klesty.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))