BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil is trying to forge an  alliance with African and South American countries to defend  seabed mining rights and strategic shipping lanes in the South  Atlantic, its defence minister said yesterday. 
 
Brazil is concerned it could fall behind as leading  developed countries race to divvy up the rights to mineral and  maritime resources in international waters. 
 
Potentially huge deposits of manganese, copper, cobalt and  other minerals are at stake, with the seabed in international  waters covering more than 50 percent of the world’s surface.
  
“Brazil can’t fall behind in this (race),” Defense Minister  Nelson Jobim said in a briefing with foreign reporters in the  capital Brasilia.  
Latin America’s largest country is already developing  massive oil reserves under thick layers of salt rock beneath  the ocean floor, which could make it one of the world’s top 10  oil exporters. It is also overhauling its military and  developing a nuclear-powered submarine to safeguard the  newfound oil reserves.  

Under the 1984 United Nations Law of the Sea and a 1994  implementation agreement, countries can request exclusive  mining rights in blocks of 100 square kilometers (38.61 sq mi),  following initial prospecting.  

The International Seabed Authority, or ISA, created under  the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention, has already granted eight  exploration contracts with rights to 2 million square km  (772,704 sq mi) in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, according to  Brazil’s defense ministry.  
German and Russian firms are prospecting in an area some  450 miles (833 km) off Brazil’s southern coast, Jobim said. 
 
Brazilian geologists say there is considerable mining  potential below the ocean floor halfway between Africa and  South America, where the two continental plates meet. 
 
“There is Brazilian interest in exploring the region, to  invest there, because these are natural resource in Brazil’s  sights,” Jobim said.  
Brazil is a major mining country and Vale, which is based  in Rio de Janeiro, is the world’s largest iron ore exporter,  with operations in West Africa and throughout South America.  

The ISA is finalizing new regulations for prospecting and  exploration and Brazil wants South America and West Africa to  adopt a common stance. 

“I’m unifying South America and at least West Africa so we  can have a minimally coherent position,” Jobim said. “Every  country has a vote.” 

Jobim has raised the issue in recent months at the South  American Defence Council, which Brazil helped create. He will  take the message to several West African countries in a visit  to the region next week. 
 
In addition to securing mineral supplies for coming  decades, Brazil wants to protect its commercial shipping lanes.  One country can claim up to 25 blocks, potentially forcing a  considerable detour of shipping lanes, Jobim said.
  
“Who is going to pay for that? Are exploration rights going  to be free?,” Jobim asked, adding that he was also concerned  about the likely presence of foreign naval ships protecting  exploration rights.
  
Brazil intends to accelerate its own prospecting and seek  alliances with South American or African nations, Jobim said.  It does not entirely oppose joint-ventures with developed  nations but thinks they should include African countries. 
 
African and South American countries should request an  extension of their maritime borders, Jobim said, from 200  nautical miles to 350 nautical miles. 
 
Brazil recently received provisional approval for its  request to extend rights to 350 nautical miles, well beyond its  newfound oil reserves, Jobim said.