SBMA Release: Authority announces assessment of exploration licence applicants
The Seabed Minerals Authority (Authority) has completed its assessment of the companies that applied for exploration licenses, and is pleased to announce that the following applicants have met the relevant criteria in the Seabed Minerals Act 2019:
CIC Limited (CIC)
CIIC Seabed Resources Limited (CIICSR)
Moana Minerals Limited (Moana Minerals)
The purpose of the assessment was to ensure that applicants were suitable companies to undertake exploration activities in Cook Islands waters.
The Authority’s assessment involved investigating and verifying information such as the applicants: compliance history, financial resourcing, corporate governance, technical expertise and capability, risk management, and whether they are fit and proper persons to hold an exploration licence.
Once the very extensive applications were received and reviewed, the Authority requested further information from the applicants in order to make its final assessments and gathered additional information through various government agencies and organisations both locally and internationally.
“This has been a very comprehensive process over several months, involving in excess of 130 queries,” said Licensing and Compliance Director Derek Johnson, “The volume of information assessed was immense, easily thousands of pages per applicant.”
The Authority’s decision was informed by advice provided by a reputable commercial, procurement and strategic advisory services firm contracted to undertake due diligence checks on behalf of the Authority.
A team of eight government, corporate (including finance), resource and environment, and health and safety experts were involved in the due diligence, with searches conducted in relevant overseas jurisdictions.
Upon completion of its checks, the Authority made determinations on each of the applicants, including on specific licence conditions. Johnson stated, “While we have engaged a wide variety of experts in this process and taken best advice available, ultimately the final decisions were made by the Authority. This process has been lead throughout by Cook Islanders.”
“It is fair to say, this has been one of the most rigorous and in-depth assessments undertaken by a government agency in the Cook Islands. It speaks to the importance that we place on getting this right” said Seabed Minerals Commissioner Alex Herman, “The process has been pioneering in nature and lengthy, and the Authority will consider how this can be improved upon for the future.”
The Authority appreciates the cooperation of all of the applicants in this process.
With the completion of assessments, the next step in the exploration licensing process is public notification. During this period, the public is invited to comment on the applications. The Authority will also consult with relevant government agencies, including the National Environment Service.
Information on CIC, CIICSR and Moana Mineral’s applications and how the public can make comments is now available on the Authority’s website here.
Queries on this release may be directed to Communications Officer Dede Mingi: [email protected]