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On March 29, 2024, the International Seabed Authority’s (“ISA”) Council concluded the first part of its 29^th Session continuing the negotiations and drafting of the Exploitation Rules, Regulations and Procedures (“RRPs”) for the deep seabed.

In this article for ESG Investor, Chris Taufatofua, Afzaal Abidi, and Ellen Swarbrick* explain how technological innovation is helping identify alternatives to critical minerals that can accelerate the wider energy transition.

In this article published by Energy Intelligence, Louise Woods, Elena Guillet, and Nonku Zondo explore lessons from the IRA and opportunities for the UK to refine its critical minerals strategy.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) are the clearest results of a race to reclaim control over critical raw materials following the global supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during the pandemic and exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as a growing frustration over China’s dominance of the global critical raw materials chain. America and the EU recognise that critical raw materials are the cornerstone for the electrification of society.

2023 was another year of change brought by global factors, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the rising trend of protectionism, the continued and increased disruption to supply chains, and inflation — all factors that are set to continue in 2024 and will give rise to dispute risks across different jurisdictions and sectors.

In an article published by Global Mining Review, Nabil Khodadad, Jonathan Roberts, and Ciara Ros discuss how to mitigate political risks in critical minerals projects.

International energy analysts record that the market size of key energy transition minerals has doubled in the last five years, reaching a staggering US$320 billion in 2022.

Green technologies are at the heart of the energy transition – they facilitate power generation and innovations that bring us closer to net-zero carbon emissions. The successful development of green technologies depends on critical minerals.

Due to ever-increasing strains on critical raw materials supply chains and the urgent, growing pressure to transition to clean energy and electric vehicles, the extraction of polymetallic nodules from the seabed has been gaining momentum as a possible source of critical raw materials. The International Seabed Authority (“ISA”) is responsible for protecting the marine environment and regulating activities in the international seabed Area.

As we inch closer to potentially unlocking a treasure trove of minerals on the ocean floor, all eyes are on the UN-body International Seabed Authority (ISA). In this article, Louise Woods and Elena Guillet discuss the financial regime of deep-sea mining.

The second part of 28^th Session of the International Seabed Authority’s Council continues in Jamaica with the international community lying anxiously in wait.

As set out in our previous alert Pivotal Year for Deep-Sea Mining, the deep seabed is rich in mineral concretions containing cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese called polymetallic nodules.