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1) US defense giant, Lockhead Martin, has sold its UK Seabed Resources subsidiary to Norwegian company Loke Marine Minerals. This comes at a time when the United Nations-affiliated organization met in Jamaica for a conference to discuss regulations around deep-sea mining. “Following a detailed analysis of the business it was clear that there was a better owner for our UK Seabed Resources (UKSR) business,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said in an email. The British subsidiary of Lockhead Martin has held International Seabed Authority (ISA) licenses since 2013 to explore the seabed for cobalt, copper, nickel and other metals. The ISA was established in 1994 to regulate the industrialization of the seabed in international waters, and to protect the marine environment. Since 2001, the ISA has issued 500,000 sq miles of seabed in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans for exploration.
2) Britian will help Kazakhstan to bypass Russia by developing export routes, according to James Cleverly, the British Foreign Minister where he visited the country and signed a memorandum on supplies of critical minerals. Kazakhstan has been traditionally allied with Moscow, however it has refused to support the invasion of Ukraine or recognize the annexation of Ukranian territories. "The UK greatly appreciates Kazakhstan's consistent and principled position in supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and your desire to bring about resolution to the war in line with the UN charter," he said in a briefing. Mr. Cleverly and Kazakh diplomats said that they have signed a memorandum on critical minerals, such as rare earths, however they did not provide any details. The country of Kazakhstan accounts for almost half of the world's uranium output and has large deposits of rare earths, that the majority of the western world sources from China or Russia.