§ Mrs. Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry what he is doing to ensure British mining companies are fully exploiting deep sea nodule extraction.
§ Mr. David MitchellWhen the necessary technology has been developed and proved, manganese nodules from the deep seabed will provide an important new source of cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel, United Kingdom requirements of which are all imported. It is therefore important that. British companies should have the opportunity to participate in commercial exploration for the recovery of these resources on terms which are reasonable and non-discriminatory, and at the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference the United Kingdom has been seeking to negotiate an internationally acceptable framework for seabed mining which will enable it to do so.