The Commonwealth Secretariat has approved a new project to support the Cook Islands develop and manage its seabed mineral resources.

A team of legal and economic advisers from the Secretariat's Special Advisory Services Division will consult with authorities in the Cook Islands, headed up by project manager Joshua Brien.

Mr Brien says the project will assist Cook Islands in establishing effective regulations to manage and protect potentially lucrative deep seabed mineral resources.

The team will also advise on offshore mining methods and environmental protection.

Seabed mineral resources have been the subject of commercial and scientific interest for years, because deposits found there often contain valuable base metals like nickel, iron, copper and titanium.

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