《“区域”内矿物资源开发规章》草案试采条款要求下的应对建议

Response suggestions under the requirements of the test mining clause of the Regulations on the Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area

《“区域”内矿物资源开发规章》正在协商中,环境保护与保全已成为各方谈判的焦点。2019年,德国提交给国际海底管理局的一项书面意见中建议增加试采的条款,要求承包者在商业性采矿前进行试采。试采作为勘探阶段向开发阶段的过渡期间需求,对采矿技术、经济性和环境影响评估均起到验证性作用。相较来说,我国在深海采矿进程中紧随西方发达国家之后,但技术成熟性较弱。积极应对试采要求,在试采中验证经济性、技术性和环境影响,跨过环境门槛,成为第一批进入商业深海采矿的承包者对我国至关重要。为此,我国需要大力发展深海采矿关键技术、加强深海环境科学研究、参与环境规则的制定,实现深海矿产资源开发与环境保护的平衡。

The Regulations on the Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area are under negotiation focusing the environmental protection and preservation.In 2019,in a written submission to the International Seabed Authority,Germany proposed the addition of a test mining clause requiring contractors to conduct test mining prior to commercial mining.As the demand during the transition from exploration stage to exploitation stage,test mining plays a validating role in mining technology,economy and environmental impact assessment.However,though China follows the western developed countries in the process of deep-sea mining,it’s technical maturity is weak.It is important for China to actively respond to the requirements of test mining and verify the economic,technical and environmental impact in the test mining in order to cross the environmental threshold and become the first contractors entering the commercial deep-sea mining.Thus,it is necessary for China to develop vigorously deep-sea key technologies,strengthen deep-sea environmental scientific research,participate in the formulation of environmental rules,and achieve the balance between deep-sea mineral resources development and environmental protection.