Webinar on Test mining – 14 June 2022 – hosted by Germany Report

About 90 colleagues from State Parties, Contractors and NGOs attended the workshop. There were three inputs, each followed by about 30 mins of discussions. See the attached agenda.

Opening – Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action – Dr. Christina Decker

Test mining for exploitation activities – General considerations - Dr. Harald Ginzky

Contents of presentation:

• The legal requirements for exploitation activities under UNCLOS as basis for test mining
• The rationale for test mining
• The rationale for a legal obligation to test mining

Contents/elements of test mining -  Hans-Peter Damian

Contents of presentation:

• The current practice at the ISA regarding test mining
• The role of modelling in test mining
• The core elements of test mining

Test mining for exploitation activities – Procedural issues - Dr. Harald Ginzky

Contents of presentation:

• Test mining projects need to be conducted during the exploration phase.
• For test mining projects an EIA is needed in order to assess the potentially negative effects of the project
• Test mining study is to compile all information gathered during test mining in order to inform EIA for the application for the approval of a plan of work
• Information of previous test mining studies could be used under certain conditions
• If there is a material change on the way to “commercial production” according to Article 25 Draft Exploitation regulation, a new test mining project could be legally required.

General remarks

• The rationale for test mining and for a legal obligation were in general widely shared and supported.
• Test mining studies should compile all information. The study should feed into the EIA for the application for an approval of a plan of work.
• It needs to be ensured that no commercial mining takes place under the disguise of test mining.
• It was discussed whether minerals recovered during test mining could be commercialized. A pragmatic approach was proposed. Contractors should not have economic advantages through test mining.
• It was said that mined nodules could be used for further testing of metallurgical processing or for small scale commercialization.
• It was also expressed that costs of test mining are so much higher than the mineral output it would produce that it would not be an economic incentive.

• It should be ensured that test mining projects do not cause harm to the environment.
• Therefore, an EIA is needed for test mining projects pursuant to the Exploration regulations.
• Test mining projects should need an approval by the ISA.
• ISBA/25/LTC/6/Rev.1 contains provisions relevant in this context.

• Test mining could be related to parts of the equipment or to the whole system.
• Test mining can and should be combined with numerical modelling approaches.
• It needs to be discussed further to which extent the methodologies, including the level of modelling, should be further specified, e.g. in a separate Annex to the exploitation regulations or in a standard document.
• The scale, duration and the special contents is dependent on the specific conditions and circumstances of a project. The test mining needs to provide sufficient information that the actual effects to the marine environment could be assessed.
• Details need to be determined in an Annex or in a standard.

• Test mining should be a mandatory obligation to be conducted during the exploration phase. The information gathered should be used to inform the EIA for the application for the approval of a plan of work. This view was widely shared.
• It was also highlighted that it was not appropriate to conduct test mining many years before the exploitation started.
• When a previous test mining project has addressed the same or very similar conditions with regard to the technique and the ecological conditions the information should in general be used, so that the test mining project is not to be repeated.
  • Reference to an existing study must be provided by the contractors, areas must be comparable, techniques must be comparable. This has to be further elaborated.
  • The ecological conditions are rarely equal, however the request for a new test mining study has to be balanced with economic interests of contractors. Is has also to be taken into account that each test mining project may have negative impacts on the environment.
  • Draft Regulation 48bis para. 5 has been supported but also challenged. What would be the "evidence required" that allows for not submitting a test mining study?
• There is a further aspect. Usually there is a long duration after the approval of a plan of work for exploitation before commercial production starts. During this phase, the conditions with respect to the technology applied, the knowledge about the environment or political priorities may develop further. If there is a material change in the sense of Draft Exploitation regulation 25, a new test mining project should be required.

• It was stated that Draft regulation 48bis para. 4 should refer to the existing exploration regulations.
• It was stated that the test mining could not be the first phase of exploitation, as this would mean that a contract is concluded before the results of the test mining are available.
• Others were of the view that test mining should be considered as a phase between exploration and exploitation and should not be integrated into the one or the other phase.
• It was stated that LOSC does not allow for an intermediate phase, but that LOSC Annex III art 17 2 f refers to test mining only in the exploration phase.
• It was stated that as long as we have clear and binding requirements for test mining, it does not matter so much, whether it will be part of exploration or exploitation.
• To the contrary, the position was stated that a new obligation by the Draft exploitation regulation could be in contradiction to the agreed exploration contracts. This needs to be further investigated.

• How does 48bis relate to Reg. 25 (which references Reg. 26)?
• Where do the environmental performance guarantee and the financial performance come in? Where is the interface?
• What kind of guarantees would be required? Where would you put it? Amendment to the Mining Code?