Industrial policy and supply chains
2026-04-26
10 minute read
19 sources
Seabed Mining and the International Seabed Authority 2026: Stalled Code, Bypass Politics, and the Pacific Pivot
How a 30 year ISA Mining Code process, the Nauru 2 year rule, the Trump April 2025 executive order on DSHMRA permitting, and Norway's January 2025 1 year delay reshape the deep sea mining option for critical minerals strategists.
Deep sea mining sits at an unusual hinge in 2026. The International Seabed Authority has run a regulatory process for more than 30 years without finalizing exploitation rules, the July 2023 Nauru 2 year trigger has lapsed without a Mining Code, and the July 2025 Council session in Kingston again failed to close the text. The United States...