Rising trade tensions between the United States and China have sparked concerns that Beijing could leverage its dominant position as a supplier of rare earths.
Brazil has a backlog of more than 20,000 areas where mining rights expired or were otherwise lost by their previous holders, equivalent to roughly 10% of the areas with pending mining permits.
Barrick's proposal to take full control of its African unit to resolve a long-standing tax dispute with Tanzania has drawn the ire of Acacia's minority shareholders.
The ISA says it has the right to set the rules as it is a transparent public forum of consensus-building by the international community and in compliance with international law.