The Government of the Republic of Vanuatu through the Council of Ministers has appointed a National Offshore Minerals Committee to oversee the drafting of a National Offshore Minerals Policy for the country. The First Draft of the Deep Sea Minerals Policy has now been completed and can be read and downloaded from the Ministry of Land website.
The Government says it recognizes that the decisions it makes and the actions it takes in performing its regulatory roles and other activities will affect communities, the environment and other organisations in this regard.
“While Deep Sea Mining is a new frontier in the mining industry and a potential game changer to our economy, our vision is for our stakeholders and citizens to have a high level engagement in scrutinizing the Deep Sea Minerals Policy draft before its finalization. A prerequisite consideration is whether indeed Vanuatu wants to proceed down the seabed mineral exploitation pathway at this time.”
The launch of national consultations on the Deep Sea Minerals Policy will commence with a first Conference to be held from the 7th to the 9th of October 2014 at the Chiefs Nakamal in Port Vila. Invitees include all political parties represented in Parliament, the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs (whose participation has been funded), the VCC, the VNCW and the National Youth Council, other NGO’s, the private sector (through the Chamber of Commerce), and overseas experts.
Interested members of the public are also invited to attend the Conference.
Following the Conference, further consultations will be undertaken in the Provinces and with different stakeholder groups.
Papua New Guinea Mine Watch 