Introduction
Resource - rich countries have, for decades, explored and
exploited the valuable mineral resources they have been endowed
with through large-scale mining activities. Historically, a key
aspect of large-scale mining has involved the exploration of
minerals through surface/land-based mining which has made
significant contributions to developments in growing economies. For
instance, In June 2023, Ghana was ranked the number one producer of
gold in Africa thus increasing its gold revenue receipts.
Lately, one type of mining exploration with even larger
prospects is ocean mining/deep sea mining. The growing interest in
mining the ocean is driven mostly by countries' quest for
mineral resources to enhance their mineral acquisition portfolio
and an incentive to create economic value for their citizens.
Additionally, the pursuit to mine the ocean floor resonates with
the International Energy Agency's 2021 report to achieve
net-zero emissions by 2050 since
