India Gets ISA License to Explore Polymetallic Sulphides in Carlsberg Ridge

India will explore polymetallic sulphides in the Carlsberg Ridge of the Indian Ocean, hence for this the Government of India has received a license from the International Seabed Authority located in Jamaica.

• India has received a license from the International Seabed Authority located in Jamaica for exploration of polymetallic sulphides in the Carlsberg Ridge of the Indian Ocean.
• Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are rocky concretions formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core such as shark teeth or shells.
• This is the first license issued globally for the exploration of polymetallic sulphur nodules in the Carlsberg Ridge. The Carlsberg Ridge is an area of 300,000 sq km in the Arabian Sea in the north-western Indian Ocean.
• It forms the boundary between the Indian and the Arab tectonic plates, extending from near Rodrigues Island to the Owen Fracture Zone.
• Earlier, India had also applied for the Afanasy-Nikitin Seamount (ANS), which is yet to be approved. ANS is located in the central Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka has claimed exploration rights over this region.

About polymetallic sulphides (PMS)

• These deposits are rich sources of metals like copper, zinc, gold and silver found on the seabed. These deposits occur in areas where hot, mineral-rich fluids from the Earth’s mantle are released into the sea, causing precipitation of metal sulphides.

About ISA

• Headquarters: Kingston, Jamaica.
• It is an autonomous international organization established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982 and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994 Agreement).
• Through ISA, the parties to UNCLOS organize and control all mineral-resource-related activities in the Area for the benefit of mankind as a whole.
• Members: 170 (including India)

Past exploration efforts

• India’s involvement in seabed exploration is not new. It had earlier secured exploration rights for polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (2002) and later for polymetallic sulphides along the Indian Ocean Ridge in 2016.
• These contracts, valid until 2027 and 2031 respectively, laid the foundation for India’s technical and institutional capabilities in deep-sea mining.
• According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), countries can claim continental shelf rights up to 350 nautical miles (and in some areas like the Bay of Bengal, up to 500 nautical miles).
• In addition, the resource-rich “high seas” areas come under the jurisdiction of ISA.
• Although India’s exploration rights provide broad opportunities, deep-sea mining remains controversial.