On 25 January 2017, the Secretary-General of the Authority received an application submitted by the Government of the Republic of Poland for approval of a plan of work for exploration for polymetallic sulphides.

The application area is in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge located between Hayes, Atlantis and Kane transform fault zones and consists of 100 exploration blocks each with an area of 10x10 kilometers.

The Republic of Poland is one of the Sponsoring States for the exploration contract for polymetallic nodules signed by the consortium Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) with the Authority in 2001, and which was extended in 2016 for a five-year period.

The application will be considered by the Legal and Technical Commission during 2017.