Who Holds the Most Deep-Sea Mining Licences?
2026-04-01
The 23 Entities Shaping the Ocean Floor
The International Seabed Authority has issued exploration contracts to 23 contractors across all resource categories. Behind each contract is a state-sponsored research institution, a national corporation, or a private company sponsored by a small island nation. The distribution of those contracts is not random — it reflects decades of geopolitical competition for strategic seabed minerals.
The Abyssal Claims database allows you to explore each contractor's full portfolio. Here is what the data shows.
By Claim Count: Russia Leads, Narrowly
Ranking by number of individual exploration blocks:
| Contractor | Country | Claims |
|---|---|---|
| Russian Federation (Ministry of Natural Resources) | Russia | 252 |
| Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) | South Korea | 233 |
| China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA) | China | 194 |
| Federal Government of Brazil | Brazil | 150 |
| Government of India / NIOT | India | 102 |
| KGHM Polska Miedź / Government of Poland | Poland | 100 |
Russia's lead is partly an artefact of how its cobalt-rich crust blocks are subdivided — its 252 claims cover a relatively modest total area. The more meaningful metric for understanding strategic footprint is total licensed area.
By Area: India, Korea, and France Dominate
When measured by total licensed km², the picture shifts considerably:
| Contractor | Total Area |
|---|---|
| Government of India / NIOT | ~86,000 km² |
| Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology | ~83,000 km² |
| French Research Institute IFREMER | ~80,000 km² |
| Federal Institute for Geosciences BGR (Germany) | ~80,000 km² |
| China Ocean Mineral Resources COMRA | ~79,000 km² |
India's large licensed area — concentrated in the Central Indian Ocean Basin — reflects its long-term polymetallic nodule programme and strategic interest in reducing dependence on imported manganese and nickel. Korea's broad portfolio spans nodules, sulphides, and crusts across multiple ocean basins.
The China Picture
China's ocean mining programme is deliberately distributed across multiple institutional vehicles. COMRA — China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association — is the primary contractor, but three additional Chinese entities hold ISA contracts:
- China Minmetals Corporation — 8 claims, ~72,745 km²
- Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Corporation (BPHDC) — 4 claims
- Beijing Minmetals Joint Venture — 4 claims
- China International Seabed Area Investment and Development Corp. (CIICAD) — 3 claims
Combined, Chinese-linked contractors hold more licensed area than any single nation, though the contracts are held under separate legal entities and COMRA remains the dominant player. This distributed structure mirrors China's approach in other resource sectors.
The Private Sector: Pacific Island Sponsorship
Several contractors are private companies without a sponsoring state powerful enough to hold ISA membership directly. The ISA framework allows small island nations to sponsor commercial applicants, in exchange for sponsorship fees and commitments to apply ISA regulations.
Notable examples:
- Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) / The Metals Company — sponsored by Nauru; triggered the controversial two-year rule in 2021 that temporarily forced the ISA to consider provisional mining regulations
- Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. (TOML) — sponsored by Tonga
- Marawa Research and Exploration Ltd. — sponsored by Kiribati
- Ocean Mineral Singapore Pte. Ltd. — sponsored by Singapore
The Metals Company (formerly DeepGreen) is the furthest advanced of any private operator toward commercial production, having completed pilot nodule collection tests in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Its NORI-D block alone covers ~74,830 km².
High-Risk Concentration
Not all concessions are equal in environmental sensitivity. The Abyssal Claims risk model flags concessions with high vent proximity, high species density, or UNESCO marine heritage site adjacency. By that measure, UK Seabed Resources Ltd. stands out: two concessions covering ~133,539 km² in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, both flagged as high-risk.
Global Sea Mineral Resources NV (GSR) from Belgium — 3 concessions, all high-risk — has conducted the most publicly documented deep-sea trials, including the 2021 PATANIA II nodule collector test that generated significant scientific controversy over sediment plume measurements.
What the Distribution Means
The concentration of ISA licences among state-backed institutions from major industrial powers — China, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, France, India — tells a story about how deep-sea mining is understood geopolitically. These are not primarily commercial ventures; they are strategic resource programmes conducted under the ISA framework, with an eye on future supply chains for critical minerals.
The 23 contractors collectively hold licences covering millions of square kilometres of ocean floor. Whether those licences translate into commercial mining depends on the completion of the ISA Mining Code, the trajectory of mineral prices, and whether precautionary science or commercial interest wins the governance debate.
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Explore every contractor's full portfolio, claims list, and environmental footprint on the Abyssal Claims contractor directory.