It's likely only a matter of time before scraping the ocean floor for valuable metals becomes a reality, according to the head of the International Seabed Authority, the U.N. regulator that oversees deep-sea mining.
"That's the commercial driver and certainly there is vast resource potential in seabed minerals.
"But the resource potential is absolutely there.
His comments come as the ISA prepares to recommence talks on deep-sea mining in Kingston, Jamaica next month.
The seabed watchdog's forthcoming session will seek to iron out a regulatory framework that, if adopted, would give the go-ahead to deep-sea mining on a commercial scale.
Persons:
It's, Michael Lodge, recommence
Organizations:
Authority, ISA, CNBC, Lodge, European Union, The
Locations:
Brussels, Kingston , Jamaica, The U.S