Context: India recently applied to the International Seabed Authority (ISBA), Jamaica, for rights to explore two vast tracts in the Indian Ocean seabed that are outside its jurisdiction.

Exploration sites applied by India

• India applied for rights to explore the seabed in regions of the open ocean, where no countries can claim sovereignty.

• It includes Deep-sea mining at a part of the ocean below a depth of 200 meters below sea level and the mining of minerals from this area is called deep-sea mining.

• The first is Carlsberg Ridge which is a submarine ridge of the Arabian Sea and Central Indian Ocean.

• It has a mean depth of around 1,800-3,600 metres below the sea surface and elevation of 2,100 metres above the seafloor.

• The Ridge coincides with the belt of seismic activity in the Indian Ocean.

• The region is rich in sulfides like chalcopyrite, pyrite and isocubanite.

• The second site is Afanasy Nikitin (AN) Seamount which is 400 km-long and 150 km-wide in the Central Indian Basin.

• It is about 3,000 km away from India’s coast, has an oceanic depth of about 4,800 km which it rises to about 1,200 metres.

• Based on surveys from about two decades established rich in deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese and copper.

• India must apply for an exploration license to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The global race for mineral resources

• Countries including China, Russia and India are vying to reach the huge deposits of mineral resources - cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese - that lie thousands of metres below the surface of oceans. These are used to produce renewable energy such as solar and wind power, electric vehicles and battery technology needed to battle against climate change. 

• The UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) has issued 31 exploration licences so far, of which 30 are active.

• If the ISA approves India's new applications, its licence count will be equal to that of Russia and one less than China. India already has two deep-sea exploration licences in the Indian Ocean.

India’s application for two regions

• AN Seamount: One of these regions is a cobalt-rich crust long known as the AfanasyNikitin Seamount (AN Seamount).

• Carlsberg Ridge: One of India's applications seeks to explore polymetallic sulphides - chimney-like mounds near hydrothermal vents containing copper, zinc, gold and silver - in the Carlsberg Ridge of the Central Indian Ocean.

• India, China, Germany and South Korea already have exploration licences for polymetallic sulphides in the Indian Ocean ridge area.

Rights for Open Ocean

• No countries can claim sovereignty over open oceans. Around 60% of the world’s seas are open ocean and though believed to be rich in a variety of mineral wealth.

• Currently no country has commercially extracted resources from open oceans.

• Countries have exclusive rights up to 200 nautical miles, and its underlying sea-bed from their borders. 

• Some ocean-bound states may have a natural stretch of land, connecting their border and the edge of the deep ocean that extends beyond this 200, as part of their so-called continental shelf. 

• UNCLOS-linked body, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf decides on the limits of a country’s continental shelf.

Environmental Concerns

• Deep seabed is the last frontier in the planet that remains largely unstudied and untouched by humanity and mining there could cause irreparable damage, no matter how pressing the need.

• Around two dozen countries - including the UK, Germany, Brazil and Canada - are also demanding either a halt or a temporary pause on deep-sea mining, given what they say is a lack of information about the marine ecosystems in those depths.

About International Seabed Authority (ISA)

• It is an autonomous intergovernmental body under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

• ISA aims to organize, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area for the benefit of mankind as a whole.

• It has its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, and came into existence on 16 November 1994, upon the entry into force of UNCLOS.

• All States Parties to UNCLOS are ipso facto members of ISA, including 168 Member States and the European Union.