Introduction

Polymetallic nodules are found on the bottom of the ocean in depths of 4–6 km, in the tectonic fracture zones. It is here that for millions of years the metal, contained in the vapor coming from the Earth’s crust, coagulates around a firm core (such as piece of stone or shark’s tooth). The resulting product – polymetallic nodule or concretion – may contain over 40 different metallic and other chemical elements of which especially the Manganese, Copper, Cobalt and Nickel are of industrial value. The nodules are grey or black, round or egg-shaped and have the size of 2–8 cm. Their existence was first discovered between 1872–76 by the exploratory boat the Challenger sailing in the Pacific. Systematic research and prospecting, however, started as late as in the 60s of the 20th century, when new analytical methods revealed the high rate of the aforementioned metals and thus their applicability for quickly developing aircraft and rocket industries. Both the Western states and the then USSR were interested in exploration and exploitation of the nodules.

The seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction is one of the international spaces – next to the Antarctica, outer space and celestial bodies – and as such it does not fall within the sovereign power of any state. The rules for the exploitation of the seabed material were codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 (UNCLOS) which entered into force on November 16, 1994 and became binding on the Czech Republic on July 21, 1996. The UNCLOS terms the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction as the “Area”. The Area is a part of the common heritage of the mankind and is administered by the International Seabed Authority (ISBA, www.isa.org.jm), having its seat in Kingston, Jamaica. The ISBA, among other things, permits the exploration of the seabed and in the future will also be authorizing the mining. In 1994, the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of UNCLOS was concluded which modifies the part of UNCLOS concerning the Area, i.a. in respect of the participation of developing states in benefits from the exploitation – the duty for the developed countries to share benefits from exploitation with developing countries was abolished – and transfer of technologies is now possible under normal commercial conditions, not advantageous for developing countries as presumed by UNCLOS.

Prior to the adoption of UNCLOS, the consortia from Western countries and the USSR had divided the most profitable seabed area of the Pacific in the Clarion-Clipperton zone. The 1982 UN Conference on the Law of the Sea has resolved that if these business groups or states meet certain conditions, they will enjoy a preferential status and be allowed to explore and prepare the exploitation of the nodules as so-called “pioneer investors”. The Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) for the ISBA and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) seated in New York was supposed to register the specific claims designated to individual pioneer investors. The Western countries (France, Japan, and the consortia formed by companies from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, USA and Canada) have registered much more territory in the Clarion-Clipperton area, compared to the registrations made by the Eastern bloc (only USSR and India). Due to the growing demand in the East for the minerals necessary for the production of steel and other strategic metals, the USSR has filed a request with the PrepCom for the pioneer investor status to be accorded (and territories on the seabed assigned) to individual Eastern European states or developing states or their consortia. The PrepCom approved the request in 1986.

Based on this PrepCom decision, in 1987 the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Eastern Germany, Cuba and Vietnam established an international organization “Interoceanmetal” (www.iom.gov.pl) with the task of prospection, exploration and preparation for exploitation of the polymetallic nodules. Interoceanmetal is based in Szczecin, Poland. Vietnam has left the organization in 1989 and the German Federal Republic as a successor after the German Democratic Republic in 1991. The Russian Federation succeeded to the organization after the USSR and the division of Czechoslovakia has left both the Czech Republic and the Slovakia as its members.

The Interoceanmetal has organized altogether 12 expeditions into the easter part of the Clarion-Clipperton area which was still free at that time and identified the best location. The claim of 150 thousand km2 has been registered and designated to the Interoceanmetal member states by the PC on August 22, 1991. This PrepCom decision was preceded by the agreement on the boundaries of claimed seabed territories with the potential neighbours China and South Korea, which envisaged to apply for the claim in the eastern part of the Clarion-Clipperton area, as well as by the agreement on the elimination of overlapping claims and conflicts relating to the seabed with the representatives of governments of Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain and USA which have their companies in international private consortia registered in the USA. The agreement between the governments of the member states of Interoceanmetal and the above mentioned Western states was signed in New York on August 20, 1991.

Each pioneer investor was, under the UN Conference on Law of the Sea resolution No. II of 10 December 1982, obliged to fulfill certain duties. These tasks included the transfer of technologies, training the expert staff for the ISBA (established in 1994, after the entry of the UNCLOS in force) or exploration of half of the designated area for the purpose of its handover to the ISBA “reserve” for future exploitation by the developing countries. Pursuant to these requirements, until 2000 the Interoceanmetal explored and handed over to the ISBA’s reserve 75 thousand km2. Between 1994 and 1995 the interns from Pakistan, Sudan, Belarus and Korean Republic were likewise trained by the Interoceanmetal. On March 14, 1995, the PC’s chairman J. L. Jesus issued a certificate for the Interoceanmetal’s member states, attesting to their meeting of the requirements (document LOS/PCN/145).

In 2000, the ISBA adopted the new regulations on prospecting and exploration for polymetallic nodules in the Area (see the section Documents). In furtherance to these new rules, dr. Kotliński, the director general of Interoceanmetal on behalf of its member states, and the secretary general of the ISBA Nandan, have on March 29, 2001 signed an agreement on the exercise of exploration by the Interoceanmetal in the remaining 75 thousand m2 for 15 years. As a result, the Interoceanmetal has become a so-called contractor (other contractors are: China, Japan, India, France, Russian federation, Korean Republic and Germany) with an exclusive right until 2016 to explore the nodules in the designated seabed area. And should the ISBA decide to permit the exploitation of the nodules, the Interoceanmetal will have a preference and priority before other potential interested subjects (for its respective registered territory). To date the activities of the Interoceanmetal are conducted in accordance with the plan of work for exploration, approved by the ISBA, including the marine environment protection measures. By 2016, the Interoceanmetal will submit a report on the termination of exploration to the ISBA, which will include i.a. the calculation of the amounts of minerals available.

Due to the recent increase in the mining of non-ferrous metals on the continents (mainly in South America and Africa) and also due to the high costs involved, the exploitation of the nodules from the seabed has been postponed. For the Czech Republic, however, the nodules remain a strategic source of important metals in the value of several hundreds of billions USD. Yearly Czech contributions to the activities of the Interoceanmetal (the Czech Republic has one expert in Szczecin) and to the ISBA budget are thus outweighed by the value of the strategic minerals in the assigned area.

The Czech authority in charge is the Ministry of Industry and Trade (www.mpo.cz) and the matters are governed by the Act No. 158/2000 Coll. of May 18, 2000, on the prospecting, exploration and exploitation of the minerals from the seabed beyond the limits es of states’ jurisdiction, and on amendment of certain acts (see the Documents section). The Act regulates rights and obligations of Czech natural and legal persons in prospecting, exploring and mining of the minerals from the seabed beyond the authority of states, and the exercise of public administration relative to it.