Cook Islands officials said Friday they had discussed seabed minerals research with China as the small Pacific island mulls deep-sea mining of its waters.
The self-governing country of 17,000 people — a former colony of close partner New Zealand — has licensed three companies to explore the seabed for nodules rich in metals such as nickel and cobalt, which are used in electric car batteries.
Despite issuing the five-year exploration licenses in 2022, the Cook Islands government says it will not decide whether to harvest the potato-sized nodules until it has assessed environmental and other impacts.
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