Keppel subsidiary bags 15-year seabed exploration contract

Ocean Mineral Singapore will team up with the International Seabed Authority.

Keppel Corp announced that its subsidiary Ocean Mineral Singapore has entered into a 15-year exploration contract for polymetallic nodules with the International Seabed Authority.

Sponsored by the Singapore Government, OMS is the first Singaporean company to be awarded an exploration contract for polymetallic nodules.

The contract signing follows the approval of OMS’s application for the exploration licence for polymetallic nodules awarded by the ISA earlier on 21 July 2014.

Polymetallic nodules contain copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese, as well as rare earth minerals, and have the potential of supplying these key metals to meet growing global demand in applications as diverse as construction, aerospace and alternative energy.