Areas reserved for minerals exploration

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Minerals and Natural Resources, Mark Brown together with the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC), are pleased to advise that the Deputy Prime Minister has reserved areas in the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (CI EEZ) exclusively for CIIC Seabed Resources Limited (CIICSR).

This has been done under the SBM Act, by Ministerial declaration, dated December 7, 2018, that Cabinet approved further to the 2013 and 2016 Agreements between the Cook Islands Government, CIIC and Global Sea Mineral Resource NV (GSR), and was published in the Cook Islands Gazette.

CIICSR is a new government joint-venture company registered in the Cook Islands and owned by the Cook Islands people, through the CIIC and GSR Cook Islands Limited (GSRCI).

GSRCI is also a new Cook Islands registered company owned by the Belgian partner, GSR, a wholly owned Belgium company.

Since 2013, GSR has also partnered with the Cook Islands to explore seabed mineral deposits in international waters in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ).

Michael Henry, chairman of CIICSR said “Reservation of areas in the CI EEZ for CIICSR is an important step in the joint venture and signals a new direction and focus by the joint venture, now planning to embark on scientific and environmental research in the Cook Islands EEZ. Until recently most of the scientific and environment research for the joint venture has been focused in international waters in the CCZ. Considerable progress has been made over the last few years in the joint venture work in the CCZ. This experience and expertise can now can be transferred to planned exploration work of the joint venture in our Cook Islands waters.”

Scientific and environmental research by the joint venture in the reserved area of the Cook Islands EEZ is hoped to begin early in 2019.