The Cook Islands government says by offering tenders for deep sea exploration it will be able to assess the environmental risks of extracting minerals from its seabed.
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, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown told Tim Glasgow the exploration phase will have a very low environmental impact.
A manganese-crusted rock sample being grabbed from the Te Tukunga o Fakahotu dive site, just north of the Manihiki Plateau, near the Cook Islands. Photo: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin.
