Seabed Minerals Taskforce to seek public views

The seabed could yield millions of dollars’ worth of mineral deposits for the Cook Islands.
Let’s hope our grandchildren spend the money wisely.
Patience was one of the elements mentioned Monday when several members of the Seabed Minerals Policy Taskforce fronted up to the media at the office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
One of the roles of the taskforce is to advise the public on expectations and timeframes for harvesting valuable polymetallic (also known as manganese) nodules, said its chairman, Marine Resources Secretary Ben Ponia.
“We’re still probably another 10 years before the technology is economically viable to extract nodules – it’s not billions on our doorstep tomorrow,” Ponia said. “We’re also thinking about the sort of fiscal regime that needs to be put in place to protect the future wealth that may be generated. We’d like to engage with the public and temper those expectations and make it not a political football as well.”
The other members of the taskforce include public servants Jim Gosselin (Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration),Vaitoti Tupa (Director, National Environment Services), Elizabeth Koteka-Wright (Policy Director, Office of the Prime Minister), Navy Epati (Public Service Commissioner), Tingika Elikana (Solicitor General, Crown Law) and Kevin Carr (acting Financial Secretary). Representing the private sector are Tim Arnold and Nadine Newnham, recruited for their expertise in, respectively, legal and financial matters.
The nodules – basically, rock concretions located on the ocean floor – are valued for their composition of manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt. The tricky part is not so much extracting the minerals but with retrieving the actual nodules from where they are located on the seabed, at depths ranging between 4,000 and 5,000 metres.
The taskforce, which has been in existence for some two months, will provide statutory, policy and technical advice to Government in the development and management of seabed minerals.
Ponia said the group has already engaged in several fruitful discussions, thanks mainly to the knowledge and skill sets its members bring to the table.
“The composition of the think tank covers many of the key areas involved,” he said. “Although we’re not seabed mineral specialists, we can each contribute something of relevance to this issue.”

By John Ireland

Herald Issue 463 10 June
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