Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harbouring coveted metals and minerals.
Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative sea-floor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper – recently signing a cooperation deal with Cook Islands.
Kiribati opened discussions with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Limin after a long-standing agreement with leading deep-sea mining outfit The Metals Company fell through.
“The talk provides an exciting opportunity to explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep-ocean resources in Kiribati,” the government said on Monday evening in a statement.
Pacific nations Kiribati, Cook Islands and Nauru sit at the forefront of a highly contentious push to mine the depths of the ocean.
Kiribati holds rights for deep-sea mining exploration across a 75,000 sq km (29,000 square-mile) swathe of the Pacific, in a region known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone.
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