Mineral deposits called nodules have attracted attention because they are packed with precious manganese, nickel and copper. The nodules can be found 5,000 meters under the ocean.
There is the technology to bring them up but there are questions around whether or not it is financially viable. Past research has shown it is not worth the cost to mine them but new evaluations have given the Cook Islands hope.
“There is a huge fortune sitting down and we are hoping to get something out of it,” said Junior Maoate of the Manganese Resource Review Committee.
Officials are due to meet with the Commonwealth Secretariat in August in order to discuss the matter.
“To strengthen the legal side of the documentation and to protect our rights to the nodules,” said Maoate.
With nodules supposedly covering much of the Cook Islands 1.8 million square kilometer seabed it has already attracted unwanted attention.
Bruce Mita, a New Zealand Maori sovereignty campaigner, told the Cook Islands government he represented futures traders in New York and he promised to make the island country a fortune.
After Mita failed to sell what was described as a scam to government he turned to the country’s traditional leaders. A fortnight ago he persuaded eight of the Cook Islands 15 chiefs to sign his proclamation declaring a takeover of government and the country’s natural resources.
Their actions enraged the public. Mita eventually lost access to the precious nodules, once the chiefs saw the error of their ways.
“We understand our Polynesian people are always easy to manipulate,” said Maoate.
The Cook Islands government is now more determined to protect any resulting wealth from the gold nuggets.
