This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. NICE, France — James Marape, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, voiced his government’s rejection of seabed mining at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference that took place between June 9 and 13, in Nice, France. […]
  • Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, opposes deep-sea mining in Papua New Guinea, according to comments made at the United Nations Ocean Conference and directly to Mongabay.
  • Contradicting his position, however, is the governor of PNG’s New Ireland province, Walter Schnaubelt, who has vocally supported mining the Solwara 1 project and reportedly met with company and national government officials about extracting copper and gold from the seabed.
  • From early on, the project has faced opposition from coastal communities living near the Solwara 1 site who are concerned about the impacts of mining on seafloor ecosystems and the fisheries on which they rely. In February 2025, they formally requested a forum to voice their grievances and hear responses from the companies involved, but have yet to receive a response, they say.
  • The company originally awarded the mining license went bankrupt in 2019, and other companies have since tried to resuscitate the project, but without consulting communities or informing them of the risks associated with deep-sea mining, according to the communities. In July 2024, the companies carried out trial mining; government officials say they were unaware of the ship’s presence, but internal documents and emails suggest that key leaders were likely aware that trial mining was planned as early as 2022.

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