The Jamaica government Monday said it is backing the island’s entry into the emerging industry of Deep Seabed Mining (DSM) through its sponsorship of Blue Minerals Jamaica Limited (BMJ), a locally registered company.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said that this “progressive and visionary step” will result in Jamaica joining a select group of 20 countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Korea, India and Belgium in deep seabed mining activities.
It said it is also a significant move for Jamaica which enters this industry on the heels of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) celebrating 25 years of exemplary service.
The statement noted that the Andrew Holness government and Blue Minerals Jamaica Limited will be filing an application with the ISA for an exploration license for polymetallic nodules in international waters.
Chief executive officer of Blue Minerals Jamaica, Peter Jantzen, who had presented the DSM case to the government in 2017, said that the process of working with the government has been open and extremely professional.
“It has shown Jamaica to be a visionary and growth-orientation country which is encouraging innovative investment and development. We look forward to growing the Blue Minerals Jamaica business and contributing to the economic growth and development of Jamaica”.
Blue Minerals Jamaica’s activities are focused on the collection of polymetallic nodules containing high concentrations of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade statement said that the deep seabed mining is essential to future sustainable global growth and as a major contributor to future demand for minerals which are required for global electrification, such as electric cars and electric infrastructure.
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