Oslo, Jun 21 (IANS): Norway's Energy Minister has said that the country is proposing to open parts of its continental shelf for commercial seabed mineral activities.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland emphasised the importance of gaining more knowledge in this field and expressed the need to gather expertise and open up for commercial mapping, exploration, and extraction of seabed minerals.

"Therefore, we are proposing to open an area on the Norwegian continental shelf for mineral activities," said Aasland in a press statement on Tuesday.

He added that the extraction of seabed minerals holds significant potential for value creation in the future, and the Norwegian government aims to facilitate this as well as create job opportunities in the ocean industries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Aasland assured that no extraction would be approved unless the rights holder's recovery plan demonstrates the ability to conduct the extraction sustainably and responsibly.

As part of the opening process, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, which serves as the Ministry's directorate for seabed minerals, has conducted a resource assessment for the designated area.

The assessment revealed significant expected undiscovered mineral resources on the Norwegian continental shelf, some of which may be extractable. It also acknowledged the current lack of knowledge regarding extraction technologies and development solutions to evaluate potential ore deposits and estimate extraction rates.