some several thousand metres beneath the sea surface. Exploitation of these reserves is by no means a new idea, but it is only now becoming feasible, with higher metal prices and emerging technologies. Metal extraction from the deep sea floor, it seems, is right around the corner. For example, in 2011, the government of Papua New Guinea granted the company Nautilus Minerals Inc. the first lease to develop such a project in the Bismarck Sea. The company now aims to begin exploration and, if successful, hopes to expand into waters near Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.