34
Y. Fouquet and D. Lacroix
Access to these strategic metals requires, firstly, scientific knowledge of the
geological and geochemical processes leading to the formation of these potential
resources, without neglecting knowledge of biodiversity and ecosystems, and, secondly, the development of new exploration, extraction and processing tools.
For a few years now, the mining industry has been taking an interest in submarine
hydrothermal mineral deposits. Exploration applications have been submitted for
several offshore hydrothermal fields in the Western Pacific by companies preparing
to exploit hydrothermal deposits in Papua New Guinea and north of New Zealand
(Nautilus). The issue of access to mineral raw materials gives rise to increasingly
visible international competition. Faced with this rapid evolution, the ISA adopted
Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Sulphides in the Area
at its 16th session on 7th May 2010, authorising applications for exclusive exploration rights in international waters. As soon as this text came into force, the China
Ocean Mineral Resources R & D Association (COMRA) submitted an application
in December 2010. In January 2011, it was Russia’s turn to make its application.
Stakeholders are therefore setting the wheels in motion around the globe. On a
world scale, around 60 licenses would be enough to cover all the ridges concerned.
The countries having submitted applications will also have an obvious advantage:
these licenses provide exclusive exploration rights, preventing ipso jure all other
operations in that area.
France’s Position
Within this backdrop, France’s industrial, technological and scientific interests
must be supported and united, as a pioneering country for deep-sea technology and
knowledge since the 1970s.
France has a coherent set of scientific expertise and technological skills in the
fields of the deep sea and mining: Ifremer, BRGM, CNRS and universities among
public establishments, Technip, Areva, and Eramet within the private sector. It thus
has the potential to conduct scientific research and develop innovative technologies
for future access to mineral resources. It also possesses the world’s second largest
EEZ, currently being extended through the Extraplac programme. Given this context, France is duty-bound to define a strategy and identify priorities.
It is with this objective in mind that the Wallis and Futuna programme was run
in 2010. This first campaign, Futuna 2010, which ran from 3rd August to 23rd September 2010, was an outcome of the agreement on the first exploration of the French
EEZ around the islands of Wallis and Futuna in order to identify active and inactive hydrothermal sites and to study the associated biodiversity. This campaign was
made possible thanks to a public-private partnership involving the French Ministry
of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, the French Marine
Protected Areas Agency, Ifremer and BRGM among public organisations and
Technip, Eramet and Areva for the private sector. Other academic organisations,
CNRS-INSU, Institute of Earth Physics of Paris (IPGP), French Atomic Energy
Y. Fouquet and D. Lacroix
Access to these strategic metals requires, firstly, scientific knowledge of the
geological and geochemical processes leading to the formation of these potential
resources, without neglecting knowledge of biodiversity and ecosystems, and, secondly, the development of new exploration, extraction and processing tools.
For a few years now, the mining industry has been taking an interest in submarine
hydrothermal mineral deposits. Exploration applications have been submitted for
several offshore hydrothermal fields in the Western Pacific by companies preparing
to exploit hydrothermal deposits in Papua New Guinea and north of New Zealand
(Nautilus). The issue of access to mineral raw materials gives rise to increasingly
visible international competition. Faced with this rapid evolution, the ISA adopted
Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Sulphides in the Area
at its 16th session on 7th May 2010, authorising applications for exclusive exploration rights in international waters. As soon as this text came into force, the China
Ocean Mineral Resources R & D Association (COMRA) submitted an application
in December 2010. In January 2011, it was Russia’s turn to make its application.
Stakeholders are therefore setting the wheels in motion around the globe. On a
world scale, around 60 licenses would be enough to cover all the ridges concerned.
The countries having submitted applications will also have an obvious advantage:
these licenses provide exclusive exploration rights, preventing ipso jure all other
operations in that area.
France’s Position
Within this backdrop, France’s industrial, technological and scientific interests
must be supported and united, as a pioneering country for deep-sea technology and
knowledge since the 1970s.
France has a coherent set of scientific expertise and technological skills in the
fields of the deep sea and mining: Ifremer, BRGM, CNRS and universities among
public establishments, Technip, Areva, and Eramet within the private sector. It thus
has the potential to conduct scientific research and develop innovative technologies
for future access to mineral resources. It also possesses the world’s second largest
EEZ, currently being extended through the Extraplac programme. Given this context, France is duty-bound to define a strategy and identify priorities.
It is with this objective in mind that the Wallis and Futuna programme was run
in 2010. This first campaign, Futuna 2010, which ran from 3rd August to 23rd September 2010, was an outcome of the agreement on the first exploration of the French
EEZ around the islands of Wallis and Futuna in order to identify active and inactive hydrothermal sites and to study the associated biodiversity. This campaign was
made possible thanks to a public-private partnership involving the French Ministry
of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, the French Marine
Protected Areas Agency, Ifremer and BRGM among public organisations and
Technip, Eramet and Areva for the private sector. Other academic organisations,
CNRS-INSU, Institute of Earth Physics of Paris (IPGP), French Atomic Energy