App. D— Ocean Mining Laws of Other Countries • 311 



reputation for cooperativeness with the govern- 

 ment. This approach derives from a historical tra- 

 dition in which the King had personal authority 

 over all mining operations. Competitive bidding 

 is not used because it is seen as discouraging min- 

 ing activity.*' 



Terms 



• Exploration: Permits are valid for 3 years, with ex- 

 tensions possible up to 5 years, if the Act referred 

 to in Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Continental 

 Shelf Declaration, has not yet come into force when 

 the original permit expires. 



• Exploitation: Royalty payments to the Chief Min- 

 ing Board of Clausthal-Zellerfeld are required 

 "where the competitive position of enterprises en- 

 gaged in mining in German territorial waters would 

 otherwise be substantially affected." The amount 

 is to be based on mining dues which would "cus- 

 tomarily be payable at the point in German ter- 

 ritorial waters nearest to the place of extraction." 

 Royalty payments are transferred according to the 

 Act of Article 16, paragraph 2. 



[Details regarding exclusive and sampling rights, 

 size and fees are unknown.] 



Conditions 



Permits may be issued subject to conditions and re- 

 strictions and may be subject to cancellation. The law 

 does not specify what issues those conditions might ad- 

 dress, although safety and technical aspects are among 

 those considered.** 



Activities 



Exploration has revealed that German waters have 

 limited amounts of oil and gas and some coal.*^ The sta- 

 tus of an application for the exploration of the continen- 

 tal shelf, filed by a consortium of companies, was un- 

 certain as of 1980.*^ No exploration is currently taking 

 place, as no finds are expected.*' 



Sand and gravel extraction within the territorial seas 

 is an established industry in the Baltic.*^ 



Japan 



Laws 



• Japan claims a 12-mile territorial sea.*' 



• Japan does not claim a continental shelf or an 

 EEZ.5° 



• Japan has no comprehensive legislation dealing 

 with offshore mining. The Mining Law, Quarry 

 Law, and Gravel Gathering Law apply to offshore 

 mining, depending on the type of mineral to be ex- 

 ploited. The Mining Law regulates activities on the 

 continental shelf. The applicability of the other two 

 laws outside the territorial waters has not been ex- 

 amined in detail.^' 



Jurisdiction 



The government of Japan exercises jurisdiction over 

 off-shore mining under the above-mentioned laws.^^ 



Permit Process 



Under the Mining Law, application for permits for 

 offshore mining are submitted to the Director-General 

 of Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) regional 

 bureau. 



For quarrying, permits are granted by the Director- 

 General of MITI regional bureau. Entrepreneurs reg- 

 ister with the Governor of the prefecture, or with the 

 Director-General of MITI regional bureau if their oper- 

 ations extend over more than one prefecture. 



For gravel-gathering, issuance of permits is regulated 

 on the prefectural level. Entrepreneurs register with the 

 Governor of the prefecture, or with the Director-General 

 of MITI regional bureau if their operations extend over 

 more than one prefecture.^' 



Terms 



A fixed fee is assessed for each unit of aggregate 

 mined. ^* Permits for exploration and exploitation are 

 issued separately under the Mining Law. One permit 

 covers both exploration and exploitation under the 

 Quarry Law and the Gravel Gathering Law. 



Duration: Permits for exploration are valid for two 

 years with two possible extensions; no limit in duration 

 for permits for exploitation (Mining Law). Permits are 

 valid up to 20 years with possible extensions (Quarry 



*'M. Kehden, op. cit. 

 **M. Kehden, op. cit. 

 "Ibid. 



^''Marine Aggregate Project, EIS, Vol. 1, February 1980, Consolidated Gold 

 Fields Australia Ltd and ARC Marine Ltd. 

 *^M. Kehden, op. cit. 

 *^Marine Aggregate Project, op. cit. 



"Law of the Sea Bulletin, 1983, op. cit., p. 39. 

 '"Ibid. 



^'Letter from Kaname Ikeda, Science Office, Embassy of Japan, to OTA, 

 June 15, 1987. 

 "Ibid. 



'^Ikeda, op. cit. 

 "Ibid. 



