191 
investment receives due protection in any subsequent international agreement.” 
Letter of January 16, 1970, from John R. Stevenson, Legal Advisor, Department 
of State, to Lee Metcalf, Chairman, Special Subcommittee on the Outer Con- 
tinental Shelf, U.S. Senate, reproduced in Hearings before the Special Senate 
Subcommittee on the Outer Continental Shelf, 91st Cong., 1st and 2d Sess. at 
210 (1970). 
“At the present time, under international law and the High Seas Convyen- 
tion, it is open to anyone who has the capacity to engage in mining of the 
deep seabed subject to the proper exercise of high seas rights of other countries 
involved.” Statement of Charles N. Brower, Hearings before the House Sub- 
committee on Oceanography of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fish- 
eries, 98d Cong., Ist Sess., at 50 (1974). 
“Tt is certainly the position of the United States that the mining of the deep 
seabed is a high seas freedom and I think that would be a freedom today under 
international law. And our position has been that companies are free to engage 
in this kind of mining beyond the 200-meter mark subject to the international 
regime to be agreed upon, and of course, assured protection of the integrity of 
investment in that period.” Statement of John Norton Moore, Hearings before 
the Senate Subcommitee on Minerals, Materials and Fuels, 93d Cong., ist 
Sess., at 247 (1973). 
The language of these extracts, and other statements similar to them made 
by these and other responsible officers of the Executive Branch is consistent 
with the Executive’s continuing practice as reflected in a paragraph in President 
Taft’s Message to the Congress of December 7, 1909, where he said: 
“The Department of State, in view of proofs filed with it in 1906, showing 
American possession, occupation and working of certain coal-bearing lands in 
Spitzbergen [Spitzbergen was at that time recognized as being not subject to 
the territorial sovereignty of any State] accepted the invitation under the 
reservation above stated [i.e., the questions of altering the status of the islands 
as countries belonging to no particular State and as equally open to the citizens 
and subjects of all States, should not be raised] and under the further reserva- 
tion that all interests in those islands already vested should be protected and 
that there should be equality of opportunity for the future.’ Annual Message of 
the President to Congress, 7 December 1909, [1901] For. Rels. of the U.S. IX 
at XIII (1914). 
Deepsea has used its best efforts to ascertain that there are no pipelines, 
cables, military installations, or other activities constituting an exercise of 
freedom of the high seas in the area encompassing the Deposit or in the super- 
jacent waters, with which Deepsea’s operations might conflict. So far as is 
known, no claim of rights has been made by any State or person with respect 
to said Deposit or any other mineral resources in the area encompassing the 
Deposit and no State or person has established effective occupation of said 
area. 
Initially, approximately 1.35 million wet metric tons of nodules will be 
recovered by Deepsea from the Deposit per year. In accord with market condi- 
tions, this may later be expanded to as much as 4 million wet metric tons per 
year recovered. Deepsea’s processing and refining technology, successfully dem- 
onstrated in its pilot plant, will recover copper, nickel. cobalt, manganese, and 
other products, depending on the market situation and competitive conditions. 
The recovered weight of the major four metals that the initial 1.35 million wet 
metric tons of nodules will yield per year will be approximately as shown in 
Column A below. Column B gives some indication of the dependency of the 
United States of America upon imports for these four metals. 
A B 
Net U.S. 
imports (1972) 
asa 
percentage 
Production of US. 
(metric tons) Consumption 
Ieee Ste ten on eee ae Lc a ie ae eee ee oe 1, 7 ae Be ee eT 4 
Gonneiees ees etree ie SPE tS. ee. SE ee a he ; 
Nickel MESES aby ope Wise Dee dee “Wat ee A te uy = 
Nu RY Tee ta ee 253, 000 93 
NantaNeSeree Sten esc eass An che na eee aes Che eee ets ee eee eee 
