Cook Islands invites seabed mineral exploration

The Cook Islands Prime Minister denies that his government is taking a gamble by opening up parts of the country's waters for seabed mining exploration.

Companies interested in conducting exploration work in the Cooks have been given until December to put in expressions of interest.

This comes despite regional calls for a moratorium on the fledgling deepsea industry over concern about potential risks of environmental damage in the furthest depths of the ocean.

Prime Minister Mark Brown told Johnny Blades that the country was taking a precautionary approach.