EU-funded, SPC Deep Sea Minerals (DSM) Project recently held a deep-sea minerals training workshop in Nadi, Fiji.
According to Thejetnewspaper.com, the workshop addressed the issues associated with deep-sea minerals and mining. Among the attendees were numerous scientists from the United States, Korea, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, SPREP and SPC.
The workshop provided the participants with a better understanding of deep-sea environments, the nature of those seabed mineral deposits and the biological communities associated with them.
Dr Russell Howorth, the Director of the SOPAC Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) said: “The precautionary approach must prevail particularly in the exploration and potential exploitation of seabed mineral deposits.”
Workshop facilitator and Deep Sea Mineral (DSM) Project Team Leader, Mr Akuila Tawake added: “Three more training workshops on social impacts, legal frameworks, policy and legislation, fiscal policy and revenue management, are planned to take place over the next 18 months.”
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Subsea World News Staff, September 17, 2012; Image: Nautilus