巴布亚新几内亚海域的Solwara 1海底采矿项目是全球首例海底矿产开发项目，如果进展顺利，将对海底采矿业和全球矿产资源供应产生极其深远的影响。基于大量文献研究和公开资料，本文将Solwara 1项目放在全球海底矿产资源开发的大背景下，透过Solwara 1项目分析了这一新兴产业面临的主要挑战，并探讨其对中国参与太平洋海域矿产资源开发的启示。本文认为，海底矿产开发具有广阔前景，但目前有很大的不确定性。各方需要采取谨慎态度，妥善处理海底采矿产生的环境、社会、收益分配等诸多问题，实现可持续发展。本文建议中国加强与太平洋岛国在海底矿产资源勘探开发领域的务实合作，并在资金、技术、人力资源等方面为后者提供力所能及的援助。
Solwara 1deep sea mining project in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea is the world-first deep sea mining project.If the project proceeds well，it will have profound impact on the deep sea mining industry and minerals supply chain globally.Drawing upon the authors' review of an extensive literature and public documents，this paper traces the development of Solwara 1 and discusses some main challenges faced by this project and the whole industry.It also examines China's engagement with Pacific island countries on deep sea mining.The paper argues that though promising，deep sea mining needs to address financial，environmental，social，regulation and benefit-sharing challenges.A comprehensive environmental impact assessment is needed before any project commences.The paper also suggests that China provide financial，technical and capacity building assistances to Pacific island countries and strengthen their capacity in managing deep sea mining activities in their waters.
