The Authority would like to clarify the comments made to RNZ. The Commissioner did not say nodule recovery was definitely a greener option. To date, there has only been one yearlong study into this. Whilst the outcome of those studies pointed to nodule recovery having a lower impact compared to terrestrial mining, that is only one study. Further research is required to explore this. The Government has stated consistently and constantly that more research is required on seabed mineral recovery and its potential impacts, and fully supports the advancement of scientific studies into this area.
The Cook Islands is one of several Pacific nations promoting ocean floor mining as the world's greenest option.
There are thought to be vast tracts of polymetallic nodules containing valuable minerals, such as cobalt, manganese and titanium, lying on the ocean floor within the Cooks' huge exclusive economic zone.
Plans to mine the nodules have long upset environmentalists but Alex Herman, the Seabed Minerals Commissioner, said the minerals were needed, and mining the ocean floor to get them was the "greener" option.
"This is all the more important when you look at the impact climate change is having," she said.
"So a consequence of that is the demand for minerals associated with a low carbon economy that leads us to the question then of how these metals going to be sourced, if we are going to move to that low carbon economy."
END
Listen to the interview here.
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SOURCE: RADIO NEW ZEALAND