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LICENSE TO DEVELOP 
Sec. 5. (a) GENERAL.—Pursuant to the provisions of 
this Act, the Secretary shall accept applications from, and 
issue licenses to, eligible applicants for the development of 
hard mineral resources of the deep seabed. Any license issued 
pursuant to this section shall be issued to the first eligible 
applicant who makes written application therefor, and ten- 
ders a fee of $50,000 for the block specified in the application 
and available for licensing. Such fee shall be deposited into 
an appropriate fund to be established in the Department of 
the Treasury, which fund shall be utilized for administrative 
and other costs incurred in the procesSing of applications for 
licenses under this Act. The fund shall be available for such 
purposes only as appropriated to the Secretary annually 
therefor. Before he may issue a license, the Secretary must 
first determine, in the consideration of each license ap- 
plication— 
(1) that the applicant is financially responsible and 
has demonstrated the ability to comply with applicable | 
laws, regulations, and license conditions; 
(2) that the operations under the license will not 
unreasonably interfere with other reasonable uses of the 
high seas, as defined by any treaty or convention to 
which the United States is signatory, or by customary 
international law; 
