Since 2014, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has been developing rules, regulations and procedures to govern mining of minerals in the deep seabed beyond areas of national jurisdiction. This “Mining Code” is essential for balancing the global demand for minerals with the need to protect the environment and ensure fair benefit-sharing. With several countries pushing for allowing exploitation and mining to begin, finalizing the Mining Code is more important than ever.

The ISA Council reconvened to continue its work on the Mining Code following the intensive but inconclusive negotiations held during the Council’s 30th session in 2025.

Although there were calls for the exploitation regulations to be finalized in 2025, significant environmental, financial, and governance issues remain unresolved, requiring continued deliberations. Discussions during Parts I and II of the 2025 session demonstrated that ISA Council members continue to hold divergent views on many issues. The Council therefore decided to take a thematic approach for the 31st session to help resolve the key outstanding matters, and agreed on the following themes:

• environmental matters;
• financial matters;
• regulatory, procedural and institutional matters; and
• governance matters.

Following the 2025 session, delegates also engaged in intersessional work ahead of the 2026 session, convening in Friends of the President and informal working group meetings. In response to the Council’s request and building on the discussions in 2025, as well as oral and written proposals submitted by members and intersessional working group outputs, the Secretariat has prepared a Further Revised Consolidated Text of the exploitation regulations for consideration during the 2026 session. The Secretariat has also prepared a draft indicative list of outstanding issues that would potentially fall under the four main themes outlined above. This list is expected to inform the Council’s programme of work for its 31st session.

In addition to continuing negotiations on the Mining Code, the Council addressed related institutional and operational matters. These included the status of exploration contracts, including information on the periodic review of the implementation of approved exploration plans of work, the status of national legislation relating to deep seabed mining, and operationalization of the Economic Planning Commission.

The 31st session of the ISA will be held in two parts in March and July 2026. Part I included meetings of the Legal and Technical Commission (23 February to 6 March 2026), taking place behind closed doors, and the Council (9–19 March 2026). The Council, which consists of 36 ISA members, will meet at ISA headquarters, in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting were Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun, Ph.D.; and Wanja Nyingi, Ph.D. The Digital Editor was Anastasia Rodopoulou. The Editor was Pam Chasek, Ph.D.