Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space

401 Pages·2012·4.795 MB·English

by  Ricky Lee (auth.)

Law and Regulation of Commercial Mining
of Minerals in Outer Space
SPACE REGULATIONS LIBRARY
VOLUME7
EDITORIALBOARD
ManagingEditor
PROF.RAMS.JAKHU,InstituteofAirandSpaceLaw,McGillUniversity,Montreal,
Canada
MEMBERS
M.DAVIS,AdeltaLegal,Adelaide,Australia
S.LEGOUEFF,LeGoueffLawOffice,Luxembourg
P.NESGOS,Milbank,Tweed,Hadley&McCloy,NewYork,U.S.A.
S.MOSTESHAR,ChambersofSa’idMosteshar,London,U.K.&
MostesharMackenzie,California,U.S.A.
L.I.TENNEN,LawOfficesofSternsandTennen,Phoenix,Arizona,U.S.A.
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/6573
Ricky J. Lee
Law and Regulation
of Commercial Mining
of Minerals in Outer Space
123
Dr.RickyJ.Lee
Sydney,Australia
[email protected]
ISBN978-94-007-2038-1 e-ISBN978-94-007-2039-8
DOI10.1007/978-94-007-2039-8
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011944336
©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2012
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InaclosedsocietyMalthusianismhasthe
appearanceofself-evidenttruth,andherein
liesthedanger.Itisnotenoughtoargue
againstMalthusianismintheabstract-such
debatesarenotsettledinacademicjournals.
Unlesspeoplecanseebroadvistasofunused
resourcesinfrontofthem,thebeliefin
limitedresourcestendstofollowasamatter
ofcourse.Andiftheideaisacceptedthatthe
world’sresourcesarefixed,theneachperson
isultimatelytheenemyofeveryother
person,andeachraceornationistheenemy
ofeveryotherraceornation. Theextreme
resultistyranny,warandevengenocide.
Onlyinauniverseofunlimitedresources
canallmenbebrothers.
RobertZubrinandRichardWagner1
1RobertZubrinandRichardWagner,THECASE FORMARS:THEPLAN TOSETTLE THERED
PLANETANDWHYWEMUST(1997),at303.
ThisisBlankPageIntegra vi
Acknowledgements
The field of space law appealed to me originally as a convenient combination of
my casual interestinspace and my legal studies.Over the years,however, itgrew
fromaperipheralinteresttobecomeapassionandfromthatpassiongrewacareer
path thathas been both challenging and rewarding. I stillrecall that one Thursday
afternoonin1998attheUniversityofAdelaidewhenIwasatlunchtimeseminaron
spacelawanditsopportunitiespresentedbyMichaelE.Davis,nowapartneratthe
law firm of Adelta Legal in Adelaide, Australia. From that time, not content with
havingintroducedmetothisnewandexcitingfieldoflaw,Mr.Davissoonbecame
my employer and continues to be an invaluable support, mentor and friend. Mere
written words are never enough to express my gratitude to him for all that he has
doneforme,butIofferthemherenonethelessasaverysmalltokenofmythanks.
Inlate1999,afterIwaselectedamemberoftheInternationalInstituteofSpace
Law, Mr. Davis introduced me to the late Associate Professor Alexis Goh of the
UniversityofWesternSydneyasausefulcontactinthatendeavour.AfterImoved
toCanberrafromAdelaidein2000,sheencouragedmetoundertakethismonograph
asadoctoralthesisattheUniversityofWesternSydneyandsheherselfbecamemy
extremelysupportivesupervisor.Shehadshowntremendousfaithandhighexpec-
tations in my abilities as a doctoral candidate and as a teaching academic, both of
which I have tried over the years to meet as much as I can though in truth I know
Iprobablycannevermeet.Shewasagenerousandunderstandingboss,anencour-
agingbutcriticalsupervisor,aresourcefulandsupportivefriendwithoutwhomthis
work (and my academic career) would never have become a reality. She is much
missed.
MythanksgotoAssociateProfessorVernonNaseoftheCityUniversityofHong
Kong, who kindly agreed to become my doctoral supervisor and has peppered me
with critical yet invaluable comments and suggestions on this work and allowed
foritscompletion.Iammuchindebtedtohimforthekindnessandfriendshipthat
he has shown to me, both as my doctoral supervisor and generally in the field of
spacelaw.
The contribution of Professor David Flint AM of Murdoch University
(Australia),ProfessorPaulB.LarsenofGeorgetownUniversity(theUnitedStates)
andProfessorFrancisLyalloftheUniversityofAberdeen(theUnitedKingdom)in
vii
viii Acknowledgements
examining this monograph, which was submitted as a doctoral thesis at Murdoch
University,mustberecognised.
In addition, the kindness and generosity of Prof. Ram Jakhu of the Institute of
AirandSpaceLawatMcGillUniversity,Canada,intakingthetimetoreviewthis
monograph.Further,theunderstanding,encouragementandsupport(nottomention
tolerance)ofNorbertSchweizerandMichaelKobras,thepartnersofmyemployer,
theSydneycommerciallawfirmofSchweizerKobras,arealsogreatlyappreciated.
MythanksalsogotoMarkSonter,directorofAsteroidEnterprisesPtyLtd,who
providedmewithsomeofhisexpertinsightsintothephysicalandtechnicalaspects
ofminingasteroids.
It goes without saying, though worth saying nonetheless, that without the con-
tinuingsupportencouragementandloveofmyfamily,Icanachievenothinginmy
life.Iamverygrateful,eventhoughImaynotappeartoshowitfromtimetotime.
Ofcourse,allfaultsandshortcomingsinthismonographareexclusivelymyown
and I count on the support of my friends and the vindictiveness of my enemies to
showmeanyerrorsofmywork.
Sydney,Australia RickyJ.Lee
Contents
1 IntroductionandOverview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 TheProblem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 TheContext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 StructureoftheMonograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 HistoricalBackground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 TechnologicalEvolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 ThePost-ColdWarWorld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.3 TheHypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 EconomicandTechnicalProspectsofMiningonCelestial
Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4 Liability and State Responsibility for Compliance
withInternationalLegalPrinciples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4.1 PhasesofaCommercialSpaceMiningVenture . . . . . . 9
1.4.2 ApplicableLegalIssues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4.3 StateResponsibilityandInternationalLiability . . . . . . 11
1.5 ExplorationandExtractionRights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6 ExploitationRights:EffectsoftheCommonHeritage
ofMankindDoctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.7 MeetingtheChallengesandBalancingtheCompeting
InterestsinCreatingaRegulatoryFrameworkforMineral
ResourcesinSpace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.7.1 MeetingtheChallenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.7.2 BalancingtheCompetingInterests . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.7.3 StructureandComposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.7.4 Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.7.5 JudicialMechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.8 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2 EconomicandTechnicalProspectsofMiningonCelestialBodies . . 21
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2 EconomicFeasibilityofSpaceMining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2.1 TheStudyofResourceEconomics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2.2 EconomicScarcityofMineralResources . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.2.3 ImplicationsoftheHydrogenEconomy . . . . . . . . . . 45
ix