Dear Editor, The Seabed Minerals Commissioner’s letter on Monday (March 22) didn’t answer the question of what potential risks to the environment from mining were presented to communities in the pa enua.

CI NEWSDede Mingi30 March 2021Seabed Minerals Authority, SBMA, Seabed Minerals Commissioner, Alex Herman, Letter to the Editor, Opinion, Deep sea research, Seabed Exploration, Cook islands, Rarotonga

Demos reject calls for decade-long ban on seabed mining in policy flip

Following a recent public consultation in the northern group and an internal policy review, the Opposition Democratic Party has come out against a ten-year moratorium on seabed mining.

CI NEWSDede Mingi17 March 2021Seabed Minerals Authority, Public Consultation, Nothern Islands, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Leader of the Opposition, Tina Pupuke Browne, Seabed Minerals Commissioner, Alex Herman, moratorium, Seabed Exploration

Turning crisis into opportunity?

While Covid-19 appears to have given earth time to heal, some governments are reportedly using the pandemic to hurt conservation efforts across the globe.

CI NEWSDede Mingi11 January 2021Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority, Rarotonga, seabed minerals exploration, Deep sea research, Seabed Exploration, Manganese Nodule

Manganese or polymetallic nodule mining

OPINION: Precautionary principle and best practise should be rigorously applied when dealing with deep sea mining, and this is what local discussion should focus on.

CI NEWSDede Mingi20 October 2020Gerald McCormack, Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Seabed Minerals Authority, seabed minerals, Seabed Exploration, Manganese, Polymetallic Nodules

Cooks opposition in the dark over seabed mining

The Cook Islands opposition MP Selina Napa has asked the government to reveal what changes are being planned for the Seabed Mining Act. Ms Napa said reported statements that the changes would be made public when they are tabled in Parliament “isn’t good enough”.

InternationalDede Mingi10 December 2018Seabed Minerals Authority, Sebed Mining Act, Cook Islands, Rarotonga, Seabed Exploration, MP Selina Napa

Cooks' deep sea mining exploration will lead to impact assessment

By offering tenders for deep sea exploration the environmental risks of extracting minerals from the seabed will be able to be assessed, the Cook Islands government says. The government plans to open tenders for five-year, deep sea mining exploration licences at the beginning of next year. And while there have been concerns raised about the environmental impact of deep sea mining, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Brown, said the exploration phase would have a very low impact.

InternationalDede Mingi23 November 2018SBMA, Seabed Minerals Authority, Seabed Minister Mark Brown, deep sea activities, Seabed Exploration, tenders, Cook Islands, Rarotonga

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