U.S. Considers Leasing Ocean Floor for Critical Minerals Mining

To reduce reliance on foreign sources, the U.S. plans to mine critical minerals from its ocean floor.

United States of America is going to take a new step in the mining industry by selling leases to extract critical minerals from the ocean floor near the South Pacific island of American Samoa. The Trump administration is currently discussing a request to offer leases for mineral extraction. In April, California-based Company Impossible Metals submitted a request for commercial auction to the U.S. Department of the Interior, seeking to mine the ocean bed for extracting minerals such as cobalt and nickel, and the department is now examining the request.

To accelerate the permit procedures for companies requesting to mine the ocean floor in the U.S. and foreign waters, President Trump signed an executive order in the last month referring to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This decision will positively align with the administration during its trade conflict with China, which currently dominates the minerals and their export, such as manganese, nickel, and cobalt. These critical minerals are essential for military equipment production and other high-tech manufacturing.

According to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the upcoming evaluation related to the selling of leases will be a steppingstone to the future of the country’s mining activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. These critical minerals are vital for a nation to protect its interests and boost its resilience, he added in a news release. However, environmentalists are raising their concern that sea floor mining will harm the fisheries and ocean life; also, it badly affects the capability of the sea floor to absorb and maintain carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, to mitigate the damages to the marine ecosystem, Impossible Metals has created an autonomous underwater robot powered by artificial intelligence. The company stated that assessing domestic seabed minerals will help the country to reduce the dependency on foreign rivals for critical resources.