Chang Wang, Siyuan Zhou, Xiaojie Shu, Huiling Song
As the first batch of 15-year international seabed exploration contracts approaches expiration, deep-sea mining has once again garnered significant attention from the global community. In July 2024, the second session of the 29th Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) resolved to expedite negotiations on the draft regulations for exploiting mineral resources in the “Area”. Also in July 2024, China Minmetals Corporation spearheaded the formation of an innovation alliance focused on the future exploration and development of deep-sea and deep-underground mineral resources. In November, the international deep-sea mining company TMC announced that its subsidiary, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc., plans to submit a development application to the ISA by June 2025. In April 2024, the President of the U.S. signed the executive order to accelerate the commercial extraction of deep-sea minerals beyond the national jurisdiction. In August 2025, TMC released the world’s first pre-feasibility study of deep-sea polymetallic nodule reserves and plans to begin commercial deep-sea mining in the fourth quarter of 2027 1 . These events collectively signal the imminent era of strategic deep-sea mineral resource development.