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Companies join a deep-sea mining rush after Trump executive order, as regulators fast-track permits
At least nine companies are in talks with regulators as agencies aim to process 16 permit applications next fiscal year, AP reported.
- In June, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a mandate for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to accelerate critical minerals development offshore, with the first lease sale planned as early as August near Alaska, Virginia, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- President Donald Trump's April executive order last year marked a sudden pivot toward deep-sea mining, hailing seafloor minerals as vital to America's future prosperity and trade independence from China. Within a year, businesses raised millions from investors and federal regulators raced to fast-track permitting.
- The Metals Company, the industry front-runner, resubmitted applications one day after NOAA finalized streamlined rules and has spent nearly $800,000 on lobbying since 2024. The firm hauled 3,000 metric tons of nodules in a 2022 trial and claims it can commercially mine before the end of next year if granted a permit.
- Limited domestic processing capacity for nickel, manganese, and cobalt forces companies to rely on foreign supply chains in Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia. Reliance on foreign partners could trigger lawsuits, since most countries are bound by International Seabed Authority commitments and could face legal exposure for helping the U.S. tap the global seabed.
- Agencies will restructure into the Marine Minerals Administration in coming months, with NOAA targeting 16 permit applications next fiscal year. Yet more than 150 countries maintain that deep-sea mining should be governed by the International Seabed Authority, positioning the U.S. move as a unilateral departure from international consensus.
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Companies join a deep-sea mining rush after Trump executive order, as regulators fast-track permits
Since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a deep-sea mining industry, businesses have raised millions from investors, and stock prices have soared. At least nine companies are in talks with the government for access to seabed minerals.…
·Marinette, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources16
Leaning Left8Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Left
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
57% Left
L 57%
C 29%
14%
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