The Mining Code

Informal working groups of the Council

to advance the draft regulations on the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area

Several informal working groups have been created since 2018 to advance the work on the draft exploitation regulations in an informal setting.

Information on the establishment of the open ended working group (OEWG) can be found in ISBA/24/C/8/Add.1, para 12 and Annex II, para 5. Information on other informal working groups can be found in ISBA/26/C/11.

The informal working groups and the parts of the draft exploitation regulations (ISBA/25/C/WP.1) they are considering are presented below.

The elements not covered by any of the informal working groups are currently being considered in plenary in an informal setting. These elements are included in the President’s text. More information on the informal work can be found in ISBA/27/C/21, para 25.

OEWG

IWG ENV

IWG ICE

IWG IM

Open-ended Working Group on the Financial Terms of a Contract

Chaired by Mr. Olav Myklebust (Norway)

NEGOTIATED TEXT:
Part VII, Appendix IV

Informal Working Group on the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment

Facilitated by Ms. Raijeli Taga (Fiji)

NEGOTIATED TEXT:
Part IV, Part VI, Annex IV, Annex VII, Annex VIII

Informal Working Group on Inspection, Compliance and Enforcement

Facilitated by Ms. Maureen Tamuno (Nigeria)

NEGOTIATED TEXT:
Part XI

Informal Working Group on Institutional Matters

Co-facilitated by Mr. Salvador Vega (Chile) and Ms. Gina Guillen-Grillo (costa Rica)

NEGOTIATED TEXT:
Part I, Part II, Part V, Part VIII, Part IX, Part XII, Part XIII, Appendix II, Appendix III

Status of work

During the resumed meeting of the 26th session of the Council, the Council agreed a road map for work on the Draft Regulations in 2022 (Annex, ISBA/26/C/13/Add.1), including the work of the informal working groups. The road map was successfully followed by the participants. A revised road map was endorsed by the Council during part III of the 27th session of the Council for its work in 2023 (ISBA/27/C/21/Add.2, Annex II).

The oral reports of the facilitators and the chair reflecting the status and progress made during the respective meetings are found as an annex to the Statement by the President of the Council for the given year. The reports can be accessed for the different working groups below.

The Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) in Respect of the Development and Negotiation of the Financial Terms of a Contract was established in July 2018 (ISBA/24/C/8/Add.1, para 12 and annex II, para).

Mr. Olav Myklebust (Norway) is the chair of this group.

3rd meeting – February 2020

Presentations of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Report of the Chair

Information webinars - 2020

A series of informal webinars was organized with a view to providing information on the methodology to be used in the preparation of the comparative analysis of the financial aspects of seabed mining and land-based mining and for the consultants to receive feedback from participants with respect to such methodology. It is recalled that this analysis was requested by the Council of the International Seabed Authority at its February 2020 meetings.

Two consultants were contracted by the secretariat, namely, RMG Consulting and CRU International Ltd., to prepare the study. During the webinars they presented a description of the methodology to be used in the preparation of the study which remains a work in progress.

Webinars on 9, 11 and 12 June 2020: Comparative Analysis of the Financial Aspects of Seabed Mining and Land-Based Mining

Studies requested by the Council concerning the financial model

Webinar on 28 October 2020: Presentation of the studies

Social Discount Rate

4th meeting – March 2022

5th meeting – July 2022

Meeting documents
Chair’s oral report

9th meeting – November 2023

Meeting documents
Presentations and reports

The Informal Working Group on the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment (IWG ENV) was established in February 2020 (ISBA/26/C/11).

Ms. Raijeli Taga (Fiji) is the facilitator of this group.

Information webinar (February 2022)

An informal webinar was organized with a view to receiving general comments on the Facilitator’s Text which is contained in document ISBA/27/C/IWG/ENV/CRP.1 ahead of the meeting in March 2022.

1st meeting (March 2022)

Meeting documents
  • The Facilitator’s text (ISBA/27/C/IWG/ENV/CRP.1) WordPDF
The Facilitator’s oral report

Information webinar (June 2022)

An informal webinar was organized with a view to providing information on the difference between the Sustainability Fund and the proposed Environmental Compensation Fund.  It is recalled that this webinar was requested by the Council of the International Seabed Authority at its March 2022 meetings.

2nd meeting (July 2022)

Meeting documents
  • The Facilitator’s revised text (ISBA/27/C/IWG/ENV/CRP.1/Rev.1) WordPDF
  • The Facilitator’s briefing note for the webinar on the proposed Environmental Compensation Fund
The Facilitator’s oral report

3rd meeting (November 2022)

Meeting documents
The Facilitator’s oral report

4th meeting (March 2023)

Meeting documents
The Facilitator’s oral report

5th meeting (July 2023)

6th meeting (November 2023)

Meeting documents
  • Facilitator’s fourth revised draft text (PDFDOC)
  • Introductory note for the Matrix on environmental S&G (PDF)
  • Matrix on environmental S&G (XLSX)
The Facilitator’s oral report
  • Coming soon

The Informal Working Group on Inspection, Compliance and Enforcement (IWG ICE) was established in February 2020 (ISBA/26/C/11).

Ms. Maureen Tamuno (Nigeria) is the facilitator of this group.

1st meeting (March 2022)

Meeting documents
The Facilitator’s oral report

2nd meeting (July 2022)

Meeting documents
The Facilitator’s oral report

3rd meeting (November 2022)

Meeting documents
  • The Facilitator’s revised text (ISBA/27/C/IWG/ICE/CRP.1/Rev.2) – Word / pdf
The Facilitator’s oral report

4th meeting (March 2023)

Meeting documents
The Facilitator’s oral report

5th meeting (July 2023)

6th meeting (October 2023)

Meeting documents
The Facilitator’s oral report
  • Coming soon

The Informal Working Group on Institutional Matters (IWG IM) was established in February 2020 (ISBA/26/C/11).

Gina Guillen-Grillo (Costa Rica) and Salvador Vega Telias (Chile) are the Co-Facilitators of this group.

1st meeting (March 2022)

Meeting documents
Co-Facilitators’ oral report

2nd meeting (July 2022)

Meeting documents
Co-Facilitators’ oral report

3rd meeting (November 2022)

Meeting documents
Co-Facilitators’ oral report

4th meeting (March 2023)

Meeting documents
The Co-Facilitators’ oral report

6th meeting (November 2023)

Meeting documents
  • Revised Text – Institutional Matters (PDFDOC)
The Facilitator’s oral report
  • Coming soon

During part I of the 27th session in 2022, the President of the Council provided a briefing paper on the work of the Plenary concerning the draft regulations and the consideration of phase one draft standards and guidelines. The briefing paper set out how the Council would progress the work on aspects of the draft regulations that were not being reviewed within the context of any of the working groups.

Based on the briefing paper, it was agreed by the Council during the Council meeting in March 2022 (ISBA/27/C/21, para 24-28) that the parts of the draft regulations listed below would be reviewed by the plenary in an informal format:

(a) The Preamble

(b) Part III, Rights and obligations of Contractors

(c) Part X, General procedures, Standards and Guidelines

(d) Annex I, Application for approval of a plan of work to obtain an exploitation contract

(e) Annex II, Mining workplan

(f) Annex III, Financing Plan

(g) Annex V, Emergency Response and Contingency Plan

(h) Annex VI, Health and Safety Plan and Maritime Security Plan

(i) Annex IX, Exploitation contract and schedule

(j) Annex X, Standard clauses for exploitation contract

(k) Appendix I, Notifiable events

(l) Schedule, Use of terms and scope.

Status of the work

Several proposals to the above-mentioned regulations were provided by delegations and observers. To collect and compile these proposals, the President of the 27th session provided a full collation of the proposals in a President’s text. It was suggested that this text will form the basis for future negotiations of these parts.